The Demon and the Detective
by malymac
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto, demon and last survivor of the Shinobi Era 1500 years passed, makes a living by doing what he was raised to do, killing. Bored after living so long, he looks for someone to keep him entertained. The unlucky someone happens to be a certain shrunken high school detective. Seeing as Naruto can turn him back at will can Shinichi refuse? NarutoxShiho and ShinichixRan
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first attempt at writing a story, so ****constructive**** criticism is much welcome. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Naruto.**

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 1

A tall man with spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and three whisker-like marks on each of his cheeks sat at his desk in the office of his large western style mansion in Beika City. He stared at the newspaper with a frown on his face.

"I thought that my new playmate would amuse me," the man said, staring at the picture of a middle aged man with black hair and a small moustache, private detective Mouri Kogoro, as mentioned in the article's headline. "This man is a complete idiot," the blond continued ranting to himself. "How can I have fun with an opponent if he isn't able to provide a challenge to me? I'll have to locate that high school kid then. He seems to be a much more competent detective, even if he is related to HIM." The man smirked. "It also seems that Mouri knows this Kudo Shinichi quite well. What better way of locating a detective except by using a detective? This buffoon should at least be able to do that. I might also figure out how someone so stupid is able to solve cases as well as he has."

**Mouri Detective Office**

Mouri Kogoro sat sprawled on top of his office desk with a bored look on his face and a half spent cigarette lazily hanging from his mouth. On the couch in front of the desk sat a young woman with long brown hair and wearing a high school uniform. Across the coffee table sat a young, grade school boy with black hair and a pair of large glasses on his face. Both looked equally as bored as the detective.

"Otou-san, how long has it been since you've had a case?" the girl asked. "It's been so long that we are starting to fall behind in our bills."

"Don't worry, Ran-neechan," the little boy said, trying (and failing) to sound energetic. "We'll get a case soon. Then we won't have to worry about…"

"What do you mean, 'we' you little brat?" the detective asked, cutting the boy off. "I'm the one that is doing all of the work. Still, if we're going broke, we could always get rid of the brat. Fewer mouths to feed mean more money. Better yet, we could sell the brat. I bet smart ass brats like him will fetch for a pretty high price."

"Otou-san!" Ran exclaimed with a look that was combination of anger, horror, and surprise on her face as she looked towards her laughing father. "We are not selling or kicking Conan-kun out!"

"I was just kidding," Kogoro said, still laughing.

'Somehow I doubt that,' Conan thought.

"I know!" Kogoro exclaimed suddenly. "Why don't you ask that detective brat for some money? His parents are loaded and this brat here is related to him, right?"

"Shinichi?" Ran asked. "How could you even think of asking him for money?"

'Though I am living here,' Conan thought, his eye twitching in annoyance. "Oji-san might be right, Ran-neechan," he said aloud. "If I ask, I'm sure that I could get Shinichi-niichan to…"

"Oh? You have a way of getting into contact with Kudo Shinichi?" a voice said, coming from the entrance.

"Who are you?" Kogoro asked when the blond, whiskered man stepped into the office.

"A client," the man replied simply. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I have been looking for Kudo Shinichi for quite a while now."

"He wouldn't happen to be your long lost boyfriend, would he?" Kogoro asked, remembering the last time someone came to his office looking for the high school detective.

"What? Of course not!" Ran and Conan exclaimed in unison causing the blond to chuckle.

"Nothing of the sort," Naruto replied with an amused smile on his face. "Actually, I entrusted a valuable item to Kudo-kun for when I went overseas. However, when I returned so that I can retrieve the item, I found that no one was in his house except for someone that is being allowed to stay there temporarily. I heard from him that Kudo Shinichi himself has disappeared."

Conan's eyes narrowed at that. 'I don't remember this man or him giving me any item of value,' he thought to himself. 'What is he trying to accomplish by telling this lie? Why is he trying to find me?' "What was the item?" he asked aloud.

"A special katana that has been in my family for over 1500 years," Naruto replied, pulling out a picture of an extremely elegant Japanese sword. Engraved on the blade was a fox with nine tails with a red gem at the end of each tail. "It's been appraised at ¥4,000,000,000."

"¥4,000,000,000!" the other three in the room exclaimed.

"Yes," Naruto replied, simply. "Each of the gems on the tails of the fox is a 1.1 carat red diamond[1]. The fox itself was colored by using ruby powder."

"You said that you gave this sword to Shinichi-niichan to hold," Conan said, being the first to recover from the shock of the value of the sword. "Why is that?"

"As I said, I gave the sword to Kudo-kun to put in the special vault in the Kudo family home here in Beika since I was going to America and they don't allow weapons like that on planes and I don't trust anyone else to handle it," Naruto replied.

Conan's eyes narrowed once again. 'How can he know about the vault?' he asked himself. 'No one outside of my parents and me know about it. Not even Ran.' "Wow, Naruto-ojisan!" he exclaimed aloud in an innocent, child-like tone. "Your family's sword must be really special. It's been in your family before they started making katanas with a standardized curve like that during the Muromachi period that started only 600 years ago. It must be the first one ever made!"

'What!' Naruto turned to face Conan. 'Who is this kid to notice that? I slipped up a bit, but he caught on almost instantly!'

"Shut up you stupid brat!" Kogoro said, whacking Conan on the back of the head. "It's an item passed down in his family. Its history is obviously going to be exaggerated a bit."

"That's probably true," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I don't remember exactly when it was forged, but the value is true. If you are able to either locate Kudo Shinichi or retrieve the sword for me, I am willing to pay you a third of the value of the sword."

"A third of the value?" Kogoro asked. "But that would be…"

"¥1.3 billion," Naruto replied casually.

The others' eyes went wide at hearing the amount that Naruto so casually offered in exchange for either the high school detective or the sword.

After a short moment, however, Kogoro frowned. "Wait a minute," he said.

"What do you mean, 'wait' Otou-san?" Ran demanded with an angry look on her face.

"It's just that whenever a client offers that kind of money to me for a job, they end up dying before I can get the money or even do the job," Kogoro replied, shrinking away in fear of his angry daughter.

Naruto just chuckled. "I assure you," he said, "I will not be dying anytime soon. If there were someone after my life, he would discover that I am not one that is easy to take down."

"I see," Kogoro said, still not entirely convinced. "Well, for now, let's head over to the detective brat's place and search for the vault or clues to his whereabouts. Hopefully he hasn't sold your katana off. Ran! You still have a key to his place, don't you?"

"Oh?" Naruto said, turning to Ran with a smirk on his face. "So Kudo Shinichi is your boyfriend?"

"No!" Ran exclaimed, blushing madly. "Well… We… He's a… We are…

"It's fine," Naruto said, chuckling. "You don't have to say anymore. Shall we be off?

**[1]Each diamond is worth about $1,740,000 (¥163,594,800).**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The second chapter of my first ever fanfiction. I have been a little busy, but I should be able to keep up with weekly updates easily. I forgot to mention, but in DC Canon, this story takes place right after the White Day case.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 2

**Kudo Manor**

"So this is the bedroom of the legendary Kudo Shinichi," Naruto said, looking at the room with walls covered with Sherlock Holmes and soccer posters.

"Yeah," Ran replied, blushing. "Shinichi is a pretty big fan of soccer and Holmes. It can get a little embarrassing sometimes at how obsessed he is."

'I'm not obsessed,' Conan thought.

"Is that so," Naruto replied, chuckling. "I'm a pretty big Holmes fan myself. This makes me all the more excited to meet Kudo Shinichi."

"We should check the study next," Ran replied, leading the others out of Shinichi's bedroom.

Naruto was about to follow when he spotted a school uniform hanging on the back of the door. He walked to it and sniffed it. His eyes widened afterwards.

"Naruto-san?" Ran called from the hallway. "Are you coming?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, hurrying out of the room. "I just spaced out for a bit thinking about another Holmes fan. I haven't met many fans here in Japan."

"Oh?" Ran replied after Naruto met her, Conan, and Kogoro in the hall. "Conan-kun is a pretty big fan of Holmes too. He is almost as big a fan as Shinichi is."

"Oh?" Naruto said. "A lot of the stories have some pretty difficult kanji. You must be an incredibly smart kid to be able to read them at your age."

"Thanks," Conan said, rubbing his head in embarrassment. "Shinichi-niichan taught me how to read them for when he was too busy to read the stories to me."

"You two must have been pretty close then," Naruto replied. "I guess it would make sense for you to move in with the Mouri family since they have known you your entire life through Kudo-kun."

Conan's eyes widened at that. "Let's continue looking for clues about Shinichi-niichan," Conan said before Ran or Kogoro could say anything.

"Sure," Naruto said with a smile.

The four searched the massive study for clues to Shinichi's whereabouts for an hour. Eventually, they gave up the search and got ready to leave the Kudo family home.

"That's probably all that we can accomplish today," Naruto said. "How about we go out for dinner? It will be my treat."

"But we can't possibly ask a client to…"

"What are you doing Ran?" Kogoro exclaimed, cutting his daughter off. "He is offering us free food," he continued in a whisper. "We are already broke. Why would we pass this up?"

"We are only broke because you gamble away the money the rare times you do get a client," Ran muttered to herself. "Fine," she said, sighing.

Naruto chuckled at their antics. "Good," he said. "I know of a pretty good shabu-shabu[1] place a few blocks down the street. It's quite delicious. Shall we go?"

The four left the house with Ran locking it up behind them.

"So, Uzumaki, what do you do?" Kogoro asked as the four walked.

"Care to take a guess, detective?" Naruto asked with his signature amused smile on his face.

"I don't know," Kogoro replied. "I was just curious about how you have that kind of money. You offered me over a billion yen for a simple job and now you are offering us dinner. I know! Was it inherited?"

"No," Naruto said with a sad smile. "I never met my parents or any of my family for that matter. My parents died the day that I was born. The only thing got from them was a small house on a mountain that is long gone."

"What about that family katana?" Conan asked. "By the way, Naruto-niichan, if you didn't know your parents, how did you get that katana anyway? I'm sure that no one would have given it to you with how valuable it is. Also, how did you know about its history if your parents or other family weren't around to tell you?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and frowned. He instantly schooled his features. "Just because I never met them doesn't mean that they didn't leave any notes for me. In fact, they each wrote a letter for me minutes before they died. As for the history of the katana, the village where I was raised has a vast library of history of just about everything, especially the major families that used to live there which of course includes the Uzumaki family."

"I see," Conan replied. 'Somehow, I feel as if he didn't actually answer the question,' he thought to himself.

"Do you want to take a guess on what I do for a living?" Naruto asked.

"Well you're pretty tanned and have fairly large muscles, so I can guess that you spend quite a lot of time outside," Conan said.

"That is true," Naruto said. "My job does require me to stand outside for a long time on occasion. Anything else?"

"Yes," Conan replied. "Your hands aren't quite as tan as your arms are. This probably means that you wear gloves a lot. Also, your muscles aren't bulky like a construction worker's. Instead they are more like a runner's where your legs seem to have been conditioned for speed. But, unlike most runners, your upper body has been conditioned too. This most likely means that you have to use most, if not all of your body for work."

"That is very true," Naruto said. "I have to stay in top physical condition to do my job. I do a lot of running, lift weights, and practice martial arts to stay in this condition. So, what do I do?"

"Well, if I also take into account that you said that you travel overseas on occasion for work, I would have to guess that you are a stuntman for famous movie stars," Conan said. "I can see a small spot on your right cheek where part of one of your birthmarks was covered with some kind of makeup."

Kogoro and Ran stared at Conan, surprised by his observations.

"That's most impressive," Naruto said. "Not many people are able to discern that amount of information about me in the little time that we have known each other. You are a pretty interesting kid. You definitely have the makings of an amazing detective. Maybe as good as Holmes if you can use his methods so well at your age."

"I just do what I see Shinichi-niichan and Kogoro-ojisan do," Conan replied, rubbing his head and blushing at the praise that Naruto had given him.

"And you do it well," Naruto replied. He stopped once he realized that they had arrived at the shabu-shabu restauraunt. "However," he said, pausing with his hand on the door, "I'm not a stuntman."

Naruto chuckled as he watched Conan's face fall into a frown. Kogoro just laughed at the boy and slapped him on the head.

"You can't be right all of the time, brat," Kogoro said as Naruto led the group to a table.

"As I said earlier, dinner is my treat," Naruto said. "Order as much as you like."

The four ordered drinks, side dishes, and sauces. Ran, Kogoro, and Conan looked at the large number of sauces that Naruto got with confusion clear on their faces. Naruto just chuckled to himself as they waited for the meat to arrive.

After they were done, Ran, Kogoro, and Conan could only stare after seeing the large amount of food that Naruto had eaten. It almost tripled what the three had all eaten combined. Naruto just chuckled and led the group to the cashier in order to pay for the meal.

"I'm glad it was his treat instead of the other way around," Kogoro said.

Conan and Ran could only agree. Suddenly, a woman's scream came from a table on the other side of the restaurant. Kogoro and Conan immediately snapped into action and ran in the direction that the scream came from. The scene that they arrived to was a woman lying on the ground, holding her throat, and another woman panicking while kneeling beside her.

"What happened?" Kogoro asked the panicking woman.

"We were just sitting here waiting for our boyfriends to come when all of the sudden, Rika said that she couldn't breathe and just collapsed," the woman said.

"Oji-san, we are probably going to have to call the police," Conan said with a grim face. "This woman is dead, and it seems like she has been poisoned."

**[1]****Shabu-shabu is a Japanese dish of thin slices of meat (usually beef) and vegetables cooked at table in a simmering pot of broth, then dipped into any of various sauces.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The third chapter is finally out. I apologize for it being an entire week late. I will hopefully have the next one up during the weekend now that I finally have a bit more downtime. Also, this is my first (rather poor) attempt at writing a case. Reviews and PMs about how I can improve will help me greatly. Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 3

Shabu Shabu Restaurant

"The victim is 24 year old Fukisaki Rika," a heavy set man wearing a tan suit and matching hat said as he and several police officers stood near where the woman had died minutes before. "She was here with you, her friend, 24 year old Komachi Mia. You two were to meet up with your respective fiancés for a double date. Am I correct so far?"

"That's right, inspector," Komachi Mia, the black haired woman that screamed, said.

"And the one who happened to be at the scene of the crime…" the inspector continued, staring at Kogoro with an unamused look on his face.

"It's been a while, Megure-keibu," Kogoro said, nervously. "We really need to stop meeting up like this, you know."

"IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" the inspector exclaimed, feeling extremely irritated. "EVERYWHERE YOU GO, THERE ARE BODIES. WHY IS THAT?" He then muttered to himself, "I'm starting to think that you are actually the one doing the murdering here."

"Don't say that, Megure-keibu," Kogoro replied. "I'm sure that the bodies are just lining up in front of me to have me solve the case and add a new chapter in the life of the great detective, Mouri Kogoro."

Kogoro ended his monologue with a hearty laugh causing Ran and Conan to turn away in embarrassment. Naruto, in the background, just frowned. He walked up to the group and cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.

"Isn't there a murderer that needs to be caught and arrested for this poor woman's death?" Naruto asked.

"Who are you?" Megure asked Naruto.

"Oh, this is Uzumaki Naruto," Conan said. "He is Kogoro-ojisan's client and works as a martial arts instructor."

"I am the client and quite skilled in tai… martial arts, but I am not a martial arts instructor," Naruto replied causing Conan to frown. "Better luck next time, boy. For now, just solve the case so that I can get back home."

"His client, you say," Megure said to Naruto. "Usually it's his clients that are most heavily involved in his cases. Either they are the ones killed, which obviously isn't the case here, or they are the murderer."

Naruto smirked. "I'm glad to say that I am one of the only one of his clients that didn't have any part in this murder," he said.

"Well, Naruto-niichan was the one that picked this place out." Conan said. "He also looked in the two girls' direction a few times during the meal."

"So you're suspecting me, Chibi-tantei?[1]" Naruto asked, smirking from amusement.

"Not really," Conan replied, annoyed at the nickname. "We were watching you almost the whole time, so it was almost impossible for you to have committed the murder."

"Why were you watching me?" Naruto asked, seeming even more amused.

"For one, I was observing you to see if I can tell that you worked as a fireman," Conan said. "The small burn mark on your neck is between the areas covered by a mark and collar. Also, your hair has a very faint smell of smoke from burning construction materials. The second reason that we were watching you is because the amount of food that you ate."

"I see, so that clears Uzumaki-san as a suspect then, Mouri?" Megure asked.

"The kid's right," Kogoro replied. "The three of us were watching him pretty carefully because of the amount of food he ate." Kogoro motioned to the table that he, Naruto, Conan, and Ran were sitting at where Naruto's plates were still stacked high.

"So I am cleared," Naruto said as the police officers stared at the table in surprise. "This might not really be relevant to the case, but I am not a fireman."

Conan just groaned in frustration at not being able to correctly deduce Naruto's occupation. Kogoro and Megure just turned to Mia and stared at her intently. Mia looked back at them confused for a moment before her eyes widened in realization.

"No!" she exclaimed. "You can't suspect me of killing Rika. She was my best friend."

"You were the one that had the best chance to kill her," Kogoro said. "You called her out early before calling your boyfriends. You wanted to kill her before they got here and use the story that you are the grieving best friend and get attention from Rika's boyfriend as well. You were then going to use them both until you got rid of them and started hunting for the next one. It's a good scheme, but it is too simple for the great Mouri Kogoro."

"I'm afraid that that is wrong, Mouri-san," a male voice said from the stores entrance. Everyone turned to see two men. A tall, bleach blond haired man stood next to a slightly shorter, black haired man who was the one that spoke. "You see, Mia couldn't be trying to gun for me. I'm her twin brother after all. Komachi Misato, a JSDF[2] soldier. The ASDF[3] in particular."

"Ah," Kogoro said with looking a bit embarrassed and a blush on his face. "Well, I may not have guessed the motive, but I am sure that you are the killer."

"That's not possible!" Mika exclaimed as an officer walked towards her. "Rika is like a sister to me. I would never kill her!"

"Instead of just randomly accusing people, shouldn't you be trying to find proof?" Naruto asked, seeming somewhat annoyed. "First, you should look at where the two were sitting. They were at different booths across from each other. They could see each other to talk, but couldn't touch each other or each other's food. Did I make a mistake in who to hire for my case?"

"Ah no, no, no!" Kogoro exclaimed, getting on his knees. "I am definitely the best man for the job. You can count on me. I can solve a case like yours instantly."

"But I am watching you completely blunder about this case in front of me, I have to question your competence as a detective. If you can't solve this one, I will most likely have to look somewhere else. It seems that your popularity has gotten to your head." With that, Naruto turned to a table and sat down. "Now, I am hungry again. Let me get a few orders of sashimi."

Everyone just stared at Naruto who ignored them all and waited for his food. After a bit, everyone went back to focus on the case.

"Ah, what is your name?" Megure asked the bleach blond man.

"He is Fumino Ichika, my boyfriend," Mia said.

"Alright, where were the two of you while the ladies were waiting on you to arrive?" Megure asked. "If I am correct, they were here for a while."

"Right," Mia said. "We agreed to meet here at six o'clock, but about fifteen minutes before, Nii-san called and told me that he and Ichika were going to be running a bit late."

"The murder took place around six thirty," Megure said. "At that time, these two still were not here"

"No," Misato said. "We just arrived. When I went to pick Ichika up at his apartment, he told me from his bathroom that his stomach was bothering him and to call the girls and tell them that we would be late. He was in there until minutes before we arrived."

"Your stomach was upset?" Kogoro asked. "Was it something you ate for lunch?"

"Yes," Ichika said. "At work, we had…"

Ichika was cut off by the sound of a cell phone ringing. He reached for his phone on his waist and noticed that it wasn't the one ringing. He then reached pulled another from his coat pocket and answered it. He went off to talk in a corner for privacy.

"Why does he have two cell phones?" Conan asked.

"He has one for work and another personal cell phone," Mia said. "The one on his waist is the one that he uses for work. It is one of the latest models that haven't even come out yet. He works for a cell phone company as one of their top designers."

"That's right," Ichika said, returning. "I'm the best that they have. In the future, my phones are going to be the only ones anyone would buy anymore."

"And you said that you are a JSDF soldier?" Kogoro asked Misato.

"Yes," Misato replied. "I joined right out of high school. Most of my family was against it, but Mia supported me, along with Rika and Ichika."

"Maybe you found out that she was cheating on you," Kogoro said. "Devastated by the betrayal when she was one of the only ones to support your decision, you killed her. After all, Ichika-san didn't see you at all while he was in the bathroom, did he? Maybe you stepped out after talking to him, came by and poisoned Rika-san, then went back to pick up Ichika-san, acting like nothing happened."

"Nii-san would never do that!" Mia exclaimed. "Also, Rika would never cheat on him. They were too in love with each other to do that."

"Humans are such vile creatures, you know," Naruto said suddenly. "They are known to lie, cheat, steal, and even murder the people that they are supposed to be closed to for very petty reasons. I'm interested to see what petty reason that the woman was murdered here for."

Everyone stared at Naruto in shock. Naruto just ignored him and went back to waiting for his food that wasn't coming due to the murder. Conan was the first one to break free from his stupor.

"Hey, Onii-chan," he said, looking up at Ichika.

"What is it, little boy?" Ichika asked.

"You didn't see this Onii-chan at all while you were in the bathroom, did you?" he asked pointing to Misato.

"No, but, that doesn't mean…"

"Then he didn't see you either then, right?" Conan asked, causing Kogoro to hit Conan on the back of the head.

"You stupid brat!" Kogoro exclaimed. "Wouldn't Misato hear somebody trying to leave a bathroom? Besides, how else did he hear his voice in the beginning?"

"I see what you are trying to say, Chibi-tantei," Naruto said. "Two cell phones. In person, one would easily be able to tell the difference between a speakerphone and a real voice. However, behind a closed bathroom door…" Naruto let the statement hang at that.

"What?" Ichika said, nervously. "How would I have killed Rika without her even knowing that I was here?" he asked. "Mia and Rika would have recognized me if I showed up and got close enough to kill her. You have no proof."

"That is true, Chibi-tantei," Naruto said. "Any way to rectify that?"

Conan was silent as he stood in his signature thinking pose. Naruto stared at Conan for a bit before nodding to himself. He then turned to the table and slammed his fists into it. This action caused everyone in the restaurant to jump in surprise.

"Where the hell is my food?" Naruto exclaimed. "I used to enjoy eating here, but now it is become a pit. Especially with that new waiter who just dropped orders off at wrong tables without anyone paying attention and the fact that they will not feed me just because someone died."

Conan looked up at that. "A new waiter?" he asked turning towards Naruto. "Do you know all of the workers here, Naruto-niichan?"

"Yes," Naruto replied. "I eat here every three days when I am not out for ramen. Also, because of work, I am used to remembering every name and face that I come across."

"That is true," the slightly balding store owner said. "Uzumaki-sama is here extremely often and knows my workers better than I do. It's just that I have so many of them that it is hard to keep track of them. I have computer chips in each worker's nametag to keep track of what tables that each waiter and waitress services."

Conan smirked. 'Got you,' he thought before turning to Kogoro. 'Time to put the old man to sleep and hopefully get our client to restore his faith in us.'

Conan ducked under one of the tables and flipped the face of his watch up. He aimed it at Kogoro's neck and pressed a button. A small, invisible needle shot out from the watch and pierced Kogoro's neck. Kogoro jumped in surprise before he swayed and fell into a chair, his head bowed down. Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked towards Conan's hiding spot.

"Otou-san!" Ran exclaimed. "You finally figured it out?"

"Yes, I did, Ran," Kogoro said, causing Naruto to raise another eyebrow. "I figured out exactly how Fumino Ichika killed Fukisaki Rika."

**[1] Means little detective. This is going to be Naruto's nickname for Conan's child form.**

**[2] Japan Self-Defense Force, Japan's military. Because of stipulations after the end of World War II, JSDF soldiers are not permitted to deploy abroad. Instead, the JSDF except for peacekeeping operations and primarily are around to protect Japan from outside threats particularly China, North Korea, and Russia.**

**[3] Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Japan's air force and one of the three branches of their military along with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF), the army and navy respectively. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: And now I give you chapter 4. I should have said this earlier (since the second chapter), but I want to thank everyone that has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy this story and any others that I write in the future which I will start once I feel like I can handle two stories at once. Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 4

Shabu Shabu Restaurant

"Otou-san!" Ran exclaimed as Kogoro fell into his signature, sleeping position. "You finally figured it out?"

"Yes, I did, Ran," Kogoro said, causing Naruto to raise another eyebrow. "I figured out exactly how Fumino Ichika killed Fukisaki Rika."

"What!" Megure exclaimed. "Fumino is the murderer? How did he return to the bathroom without Komachi noticing? I'm still convinced that your client here is the one that did it. You might have lost track of him at some point and he used that time to…"

"It was a simple trick, Megure-keibu," Kogoro said, cutting of the inspector's rant on how he thought Naruto was the murderer. "Actually, it was so simple that it can't even be called a trick. He simply used the speaker on his second cell phone to make Komachi Misato believe that he was in the bathroom the entire time. When he returned, he most likely used the recorded sound of a toilet flushing to mask the sound of him returning to the bathroom."

"That's ridiculous," Ichika said. "How would I have killed Rika in this restaurant anyway? Don't tell me that I disguised myself as a waiter and poisoned her drink. Rika and Mia both would have recognized me."

"That's exactly what you did," Kogoro replied. "In your haste to get back before Misato-san decided to arrive without you, you failed to remove some of the tan makeup that I noticed on your waistline. I do recall there being a tan waiter that spoke in a weird Kansai dialect. That was you."

"What about the cards that waiters have to scan before and after visiting each table?" Ichika asked. "How could I have possibly swiped the cards from other employees and returned them without them noticing?"

"Simple, you didn't return them," Kogoro replied.

Ichika laughed aloud at that. "The famous Mouri Kogoro is this incompetent as a detective?" he said, laughing. "How can they still work if they don't have their cards?"

"I never said you took the cards either," Kogoro said. "A big craze among pickpockets these days is the RFID reader, a cell phone device that they use to take a person's credit card information by simply touching a person's wallet or pocket with the phone. They then imprint the information on a blank card. Being a designer and programmer at one of the top cell phone companies in the world, programming the device to read the employee cards and your card to work like one. I'm sure that if your phone was checked, we would find the card information from various employees here."

Everyone's eyes widened at that revelation. Ichika frowned and stared at the ground. Mia turned to him with tears beginning to form.

"Ichika," Mia said. "It isn't true, is it? You wouldn't kill Rika, would you? Ichika?"

"I can't believe that you figured it out," Ichika said, still staring at the floor. He then looked up with a resigned look in his eye. "I suppose that since you caught me, I might as well tell you the reason."

"Actually, I'm not all that interested," Naruto said. "I just want some food."

"It started around four months ago when Mia went to visit Misato while he was at some base in South Korea for two weeks," Ichika said, completely disregarding Naruto's protests. "Since only family were allowed to visit, only Mia went along with her and Misato's parents. Rika and I were left to hang out with each other. One thing led to another and we ended up having sex."

"What?" Mia said, her eyes somehow getting even wider than before. "How could… Rika wouldn't… But she and Nii-san were…"

"Rika was starting to get tired of Misato going off on missions," Ichika said. "Usually, she would hang out with you to comfort herself. This time, however, you were gone as well, so the only one she could turn to was me. A few weeks ago, she came to me with a letter from her doctor stating that she was four months pregnant. I didn't know what to do. I knew that once Misato found out, he would kill me for getting her pregnant and for cheating on his sister. So, I killed her before she could…"

Ichika was cut off by a fist connecting to his jaw. He was instantly launched through three tables before he hit a wall. He looked up to see Misato glaring at him, boiling with rage.

"You bastard," Misato said through gritted teeth. "YOU BASTARD!"

Misato rushed at Ichika. The police officers were to slow to react. Right before Misato reached the object of his rage, he felt himself held back and unable to move. He looked over his shoulder to see Naruto holding him back with a single hand.

"As much as I would like to see you destroy this piece of human filth, I would think that your sister has seen enough death for one day, don't you think?" Naruto asked with a kind smile on his face that calmed Misato down almost instantly.

"He…" Misato began.

"You already knew about that night. Didn't you?" Naruto asked softly.

"A few days after I got back, Rika came to me in tears, apologizing," Misato said. "She told me about how she always felt so empty when I went off on a mission and how she kept herself sane by spending more time with Mia. She also told me about how she went to Ichika since Mia came to visit me and in a moment of weakness, she threw herself at him. I was a little angry at first, but I forgave her since she came to me and seriously felt bad about it. A few days afterwards, she came to me and told me that she was pregnant. She also assured me that it happened before I left… Well, more accurately because of our time the night that I left."

"What?" Ichika said, looking up at Misato. "You mean…"

"Yes," Misato said, clenching his teeth once more. The child was mine. We were planning to tell you and Mia tonight and that we were getting married a month after it was born. But now… You ruined it! We…"

Misato then broke down, falling to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Mia rushed to her twin brother and pulled him into an embrace; all while shedding tears herself. Tears also rolled down Ichika's face as a police officer helped him to his feet and escorted him to a police car outside of the restaurant.

"This is a fine example of the true nature of humans at its finest," Naruto said looking up at the ceiling with a blank look on his face. "I'm not even hungry anymore."

"Another great job, Mouri-kun," Megure said, patting Kogoro's shoulders roughly, causing the detective to jump up in surprise. "I was so convinced that another of your clients was involved in a case like so many other times. Ah! I apologize that I suspected you without much proof, Uzumaki-kun, but you have to understand how much grief I have to go through because this guy's clients are either murdered or they murder somebody else."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said with a smile. "As long as the right person is caught and on his way to prison, I'm satisfied. I also got to see that Mouri-san is indeed a competent detective. Well, it's getting late. I have work to do fairly early in the morning. So I'll be going now."

"We'll walk with you since we are going to visit Shinichi's neighbor, Agasa-hakase," Ran said. "He might have information on where Shinichi is since he stays in pretty good contact with the professor."

"Alright then, shall we be off?" Naruto asked.

The four walked towards the professor's house in a comfortable silence. After a while, they reached the large house next to the Kudo family home.

"I guess this is where we part," Naruto said. "I will await your call with news about either my family sword or about Kudo-kun."

"Alright," Kogoro said, thinking about the various ways that he could spend the billion yen he was getting as payment.

"I got it!" Ran exclaimed suddenly, much to the surprise of the three males around her. "You are a ninja assassin, aren't you?" she asked Naruto. "It's the only thing that I can think of that fits all of your skills and can earn huge amounts of money. It also is how you can travel outside of the country for work."

Everyone stared at Ran for a bit. After a while, Naruto chuckled. The chuckle soon gave way to full blown laughter as he walked away from the trio.

"Are you an idiot?" Kogoro asked his daughter with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Really, Ran-neechan," Conan said as he and Kogoro went up to the professor's front door. "Only a kid would think that ninjas are still around and active in this day and age."

'Aren't you a kid yourself?' Ran thought to herself, her eyebrows twitching at being made fun of by the two. "He didn't say no!" she exclaimed, running after Conan and her Father.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A bit late due to the lack of reliable internet access while I'm at military training. I will still try to get the next chapter by the end of the week. Once again, I thank you for reading, favoriting, and reviewing this story and hope you continue to do so. Please enjoy chapter 5.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 5

_The night sky was completely illuminated by a bright, orange light. Thick, black smoke from the source of the light, a large building completely ablaze, bringing the fire to the attention of everyone within miles of the building. One person, a young, bespeckeled, Japanese man, sat on the ground directly in front of the building, his face contorted into horror. No sound came from his mouth, almost suffocating due to the smoke and the smell of the burning corpses that were inside and around the building._

_The man's attention was drawn to the entrance of the burning building. A tall figure with long, waist length, blonde hair that completely shadowed his face walked out with an extremely long o-katana, dripping with blood, in its right hand. When the figure was a meter away from the building, a sign fell off the front of the building. It read: "Los Angeles Police Department." _

_The Japanese man began to shake uncontrollably as the figure with the bloody sword made his way toward him. He reached into his chest pocket and took out a handgun and shakily pointed it at the figure. A slightly breeze blew, causing the figure's hair to sway and reveal a pair of eyes that were the coldest and most frightening shade of blue that the man had ever seen. The figure ignored the gun and continued on to the Japanese man. _

_The figure stopped directly in front of the man and knelt down so that their eyes were locked on one another's. The Japanese man continued to shake and held the gun to the figure's chest where his hard would be. The figure continued to ignore the gun and leaned over to whisper into the man's ear. Afterwards, the figure rose and continued walking. The man dropped the gun and began to shake even more, tears running from his eyes._

A black haired man shot up in his bed. Sweat rolled down his face. He reached to his nightstand and pulled on his glasses before looking over at the clock.

'4 a.m.' the man thought with a frown on his face. 'Why did I have that dream again? It's been months. I thought I was finally getting over that.'

"Yusaku?" the man heard a voice call out to him.

"Did I wake you?" the man, Yusaku asked the woman sleeping beside him. "Just go back to sleep. Our flight to Japan isn't for another six hours."

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"It was just a dream, Yukiko," Yusaku replied. "I'll just get a glass of water and will be back in bed soon. Go back to sleep."

"Alright," Yukiko said before falling back asleep instantly.

Kudo Manor, Midnight the day of the Shabu Shabu Murder

A shadowy figure crept into the large mansion. It went into the enormous study and pulled back a book on one of the middle shelves of the second level to reveal a keypad. After entering a long sequence in the keypad, there was a click that echoed from somewhere else in the house.

The figure then went to the bathroom on the basement floor of the house to find a man sized hole in the middle of the bathtub. He climbed down the whole to reach a massive room with an equally massive vault door with various locks on it. After manipulating each one precisely, the vault door slowly slid open to reveal a smirking Uzumaki Naruto sitting inside with a sheathed katana in his lap.

"Ah! It's the little boy from the detective agency," Naruto said as if he were greeting someone at a store. The figure walked into the light of the vault to reveal itself to be Conan. "How are you, Chibi- tantei?"

"How did you get in here?" Conan asked, his hand on his watch in case he needed to put the blond in front of him to sleep. "No one outside of the Kudo family should even know about the existence of this vault, not to mention how to open it."

"That statement further proves your identity to me, Chibi-tantei," Naruto said with a smirk, "or should I say Kudo Shinichi?"

"Who are you?" Conan asked, his tone completely serious. "How did you find out who I really am?"

"It would be more comfortable to talk about this over cups of ramen, wouldn't it?" Naruto asked walking out of the vault calmly. "We should go to my place. I'm sure that you don't want to discuss your true identity to that man you are loaning your house to, do you?"

Conan eyed Naruto suspiciously as he followed the blond out of the vault which closed and locked itself automatically once both were out. They then went up the ladder to the bathroom. Naruto waited outside as Conan resealed the secret entrance to the vault room. The two then walked together in silence the few blocks to Naruto's place; Naruto with a nonchalant smile on his face and Conan with a frown on his.

After ten minutes of walking, the two arrived at a mansion much larger than the Kudos'. The nameplate on the gate said Uzumaki. Naruto took a quick glance at the still frowning Conan and chuckled before opening the gate and leading the shrunken high school detective up to the house.

"Welcome to my home Chibi-tantei," Naruto said when the two entered the house. "What kind of ramen would you like? I have all of the kinds known to man and some that aren't so known. I highly recommend the triple meat miso. Just the taste of three different kinds of meat and the miso blending together in…"

"Oolong tea, please," Conan said, cutting off Naruto's ramen rant. "I'm not very hungry at the moment. Someone that I just met discovered my real identity and can easily get in and out of my family's vault that no one outside of the family is supposed to know about, so you'll have to excuse my lack of appetite."

"It's completely fine," Naruto said. He led Conan to a living room and had him sit on a couch in front on a large coffee table. "I'll have your tea ready in a moment."

'Who is this guy?' Conan thought as he looked around the room after Naruto had gone. 'He is extremely dangerous to have discovered who I am so quickly. Also, to be able to access the vault… I should tread carefully around this guy.'

Naruto reappeared moments later with a cup of tea for Conan and several cups of ramen balanced on a large tray for himself. He set the tea in front of Conan before taking a seat on the couch across the table and began inhaling his ramen.

"Now," Naruto said after rapidly finishing three cups in less than a minute, "we both probably have several questions for each other. Since you are my guest, I'll allow you to start."

"Alright then," Conan said. "I'll get straight to the point. Who the hell are you?"

"I am, as I introduced myself earlier, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto replied. "I am a contract killer. So your little girlfriend was pretty accurate at guessing that I was a ninja assassin."

Conan's eyes went wide at that revelation. He looked down at the cup that he had previously been drinking from, causing Naruto to chuckle.

"Don't worry," Naruto said, still laughing. "I don't really like using poisons. I prefer a more direct approach. Besides, no one has hired me to kill you yet. It is my turn though. You should answer truthfully since I am doing the same. Now, why are you a little kid?"

Conan hesitated for a moment before deciding to answer truthfully. "I was forced to take a poison meant to kill me," he said. "Instead, it shrunk my body to that of a grade school kid. Now, how did you know about my family's vault?"

"That's easy," Naruto said after finishing two more cups of ramen. "I was the one that designed, built, and installed the vault for your father. I left my sword with him and inside when I left the country on a mission."

"So when you said 'Kudo-kun,' you were talking about my father?" Conan asked, looking up in surprise.

"Yes, now my question," Naruto said. "Who was the one that poisoned you?"

"An organization that I'm investigating," Conan replied. "I was caught by them and they attempted to kill me. Now tell me why you were looking for me."

"Killing people as easily as I can has grown pretty boring," Naruto replied simply. "When I get bored, extremely bad things happen that I don't feel like dealing with right now. So, to alleviate my boredom, I decided to find someone that can match me in the opposite skill set, capturing killers. So I want to play a sort of game where you try, within a set of rules, to capture me and also solve the murders that commit around you."

"Murdering people as a game!" Conan exclaimed angrily. "What is to stop me from just turning you in right now?"

"Years ago, I was a consultant on underworld dealings for your father," Naruto said. "However, he broke my rules, rules that we both agreed upon. Because of this betrayal, I ended up killing a lot of people, more than you would want to see dead at one time. You can ask him for the details. Besides, don't you want your body back?"

Naruto's last statement caused whatever Conan was about to freeze in his mouth.

"Well, that was two questions," Naruto said. "It doesn't matter. Just answer my question. Do you want your body back?"

"I do, but what are you going to do about it?" Conan asked. "You can't possibly have a way to restore me to my true age."

"I do, actually," Naruto replied, holding up a black ball. "Sometimes, in order to get closer to a target, I make myself older or younger. This has also helped in preventing people from catching me over the years. This pill, however, is disgusting and will make it feel like your bones are melting. You also have to chew it to make it work. Still, it helps in doing what is supposed to do. I will give you one today to prove to you that they work."

"What do I have to do for this, game?" Conan asked, saying the word game with as much venom as he could.

"Simple," Naruto replied. "Each time you solve one of my crimes, I will give you a pill. If you are able to make a trap within the rules that we will change every three weeks, I will give you five pills after I escape prison. After each pill, you will grow into your real body for three days before changing back to your Chibi-tantei form. You should only take one at a time or your body could face terrible side effects. Also, you should talk to your father about me. He will confirm that I always keep my word. Those that break their word to me will find that I can do some extremely unpleasant things. Again, ask your father."

Conan frowned and made a mental note to contact his father about Naruto and his story.

"Now, here you are, Chibi-tantei," Naruto said, smiling as he handed Conan the blackish brown ball. "I look forward to facing off against you in the future."

With that, Naruto left the room, leaving Conan to sit, staring at the pill and lost in thought. 'He said that he is a killer, but why do I feel that I can trust him?' Conan thought to himself before popping the ball into his mouth and biting down. 'He was right about the taste. It is all I can do not to gag. However, I don't know what he was talking about when he said that I would feel…'

Conan's thoughts were interrupted by agonizing pain shooting throughout his body. Naruto looked down at him from the top of the stairs.

"Let's get along, Kudo Shinichi," Naruto said with a smirk on his face.

**Who can tell where the inspiration from the dream sequence at the beginning came from? If you are an RPG gamer (console, not that MMO crap) it should be pretty obvious. It should also be obvious about what the pill Naruto gave Conan is (at least I think it should be). How it is supposed to grow Conan back... well you will have to wait and see.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here is chapter 6 for your enjoyment. For those who didn't see it, the dream sequence from last chapter was inspired by Final Fantasy VII, when Sephiroth attacks Nibelheim. The pill was Sakura's special food from Naruto. Once again, I thank you for reading, reviewing, and favoriting this story. Enjoy.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 6

Uzumaki Mansion-Beika City

High school detective, Kudo Shinichi, yawned and stretched as he woke up the morning after taking the pill given to Conan from Naruto and finding himself alone in the self- proclaimed ninja assassin's house. He looked down at his naked body and smirked to himself.

"I can't believe that it actually worked," Shinichi said to himself. "I thought for sure that I was going to die after that. I'm really back."

Shinichi looked over at the coffee table that he sat at with Naruto the night before. He saw a Teitan High School uniform with a note on top. He picked it up to read it.

_Good morning, Kudo-kun. I hope that you like the feeling of being in your body once again, though temporary. As you see, I have acquired a set of clothes from your closet so that you can walk around freely outside without having to be arrested for public indecency. I would advise you to visit your cute little girlfriend at the detective office in order to find a place to stay. I'm sure that you don't want your tenant to know exactly where you are. You could just tell her something like you are investigating a case that is extremely dangerous and that you are taking a small, three-day rest._

'What is this?' Shinichi thought. 'A killer is giving me dating advice?'

_You will notice that with this letter, there is a sheet of paper with nine lines. On it, I want you to write the names of nine people that are closest to you. As long as you play the game, these nine people are pretty much under my protection. I will not take a job to kill any of these people. If anyone is targeting one or more of them, I will let you know before handling it myself._

_One last thing; your parents are not allowed to be placed on this list. Your father isn't because of my grudge against him. I will be coming for his life in the future anyway. Your mother and I were very close, so I would go out of my way to protect her anyway. When you are done with the list and getting dressed, just leave this letter and the list on the table and leave with the large rolling suitcase by the door. _

_I look forward to facing off with you, Kudo Shinichi._

_Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi_

Shinichi's eyes widened after reading and rereading the letter. "How was a he friend with my mother?" he asked aloud. "No, I can think about that later. For now I need to figure out whom to put on this list to protect. Ran, her father, and her mother are a given. The professor and Haibara are also sure to go on this list. Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi might be targeted to get to me, so they should take up the next three slots. Now for the last one. I think I will put myself down. It would nice to know who is targeting me."

With that, Shinichi wrote the names down and put on his clothes. He sat back down to think about what to do next.

'Ran is at school right now, so I should wait before going to the agency,' he thought. 'I can't go home because, as Uzumaki said, Subaru-san is staying there. I guess the professor's place is the only place to go until school gets out.'

Shinichi went toward the front door and found the large, rolling suitcase that Naruto had mentioned in the letter. On top of it was another note.

_My payment to Mouri-san for the case in locating Kudo Shinichi for the retrieval of Kyuu no Ikari__[1]__, the Uzumaki Family Sword._

Shinichi hurriedly laid the suitcase down and opened it. His eyes threatened to burst out of the sockets when he saw the contents. It was completely filled with stacks of ¥10,000 notes. He quickly shut the case and closed his eyes. He opened the case again to see that the contents were not a figment of his imagination.

"Okay," he said, taking breaths to calm himself. "I will take this to Ran's after I go see the professor. I should also call my father while I'm there."

Agasa Residence

A heavy set, Japanese man with balding white hair and glasses stood in front of a table that was covered by various machine parts, tools, and chemicals. The man was in the middle of the delicate process of mixing two highly reactive chemicals in test tubes when the doorbell rang. The suddenness of the doorbell caused him to drop more of the chemical into the other test tube than he intended, resulting in a small explosion leaving him and his work area covered in soot.

The professor grumbled to himself at being disturbed as he marched upstairs from his basement laboratory without cleaning himself off to yell at the person that dared interrupt him from his work. He got to the door and yanked it open.

"I do not want to buy any, so don't come by here again," the man said, "Especially not when I am working on an important project."

"Sorry about that, Hakase," a young, male voice said.

The professor looked up to see his young friend, Kudo Shinichi, standing at his door with his signature smirk on his face. The professor's eyes widened to the point that Shinichi thought that he would faint.

"Hold on there, Hakase," Shinichi said. "I can't have you having a heart attack right in front of me. I need to talk to you for a moment."

"Shinichi!" the professor said, finally regaining his composure. "How… Why… Come inside. We can talk more in my living room. My guest would also want to hear about how you are suddenly in your real body."

The professor led Shinichi into the house. They went into the living room where Shinichi sat on the couch while the professor made tea in the kitchen. The professor took three cups to the living room table and sat down across from Shinichi as the two waited for the third guest.

After about three minutes of waiting, the two heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the upper floors. Shinichi turned to the stairs and it was his turn to be surprised.

"Tou-san?" Shinichi asked as Yusaku entered the living room, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Ah, it's good to see you son," Yusaku said sleepily. He paused for a moment before his head snapped back to Shinichi's face. "Shinichi!" he exclaimed. "What happened to you?"

"I was just about to explain," Shinichi said as his father took the seat beside him. "Better yet, what are you doing here?"

"Your mother wanted to come by and check on you. Right now, she is out shopping," Yusaku replied.

"It is a good thing you are here, Tou-san," Shinichi said. "I was planning on calling you anyway. I have something to ask you about a contract killer, codename: Kyuubi."

Yusaku's eyes widened in surprise and a hint of fear. "Whe… Where did you here that name?" he asked his son.

"From the man himself," Shinichi replied.

Yusaku sighed. "Uzumaki Naruto, also known as the Kyuubi, is one of the most dangerous if not the single most dangerous man on this planet and possibly all of the others as well," he said.

"Really?" Shinichi asked, surprised. "He was extremely polite when talking to me, even when he found out my real identity."

"That just makes him even more dangerous," Yusaku replied. "I had a small relationship with Uzumaki Naruto in the past. We met when I was doing research for my first book. He offered me information on underworld dealings to use to catch criminals and as a reference for my book. The only things I was told to do in exchange was to take care of his good friend, your mother, who I was dating at the time. He also said that I couldn't reveal his true occupation to her I any way."

"So he knew Kaa-san before you did?" Shinichi asked. "Did they date before?"

"Not at all," Yusaku replied. "He was more of an older brother or an uncle figure to your mother," Yusaku replied.

"So, you revealed his identity to her?" Shinichi asked.

"I did more than that, I'm afraid," Yusaku replied sadly. "I made a plan to have him arrested while your mother and I were on a date. She saw him in handcuffs and being escorted by a squadron of police officers. The look of betrayal on her face is what initially made me regret going forth with the plan. She refused to even look at him the entire time. It really broke him. His demeanor completely changed. He went from his normal, cheerful self to an ice cold, heartless demon. He didn't speak to anyone or react to any type of questioning as he was shipped to Los Angeles. It was there, when I was on my way to assist with the interrogation, it happened…"

"What happened?" Shinichi asked after he saw his father tremble.

"A massacre is the only way to put it," Yusaku said in a low tone. "The holding cell he was put into was blown open. He then proceeded to escape the police station, killing everyone there. It was a truly frightening sight. I had just pulled up to the station when I saw that it was on fire and people were hacked apart and thrown out the windows. The blood and burning corpses of over a hundred people that were killed by this one man haunts me to this day."

Both the professor and Shinichi shuddered at the thought of seeing so many people die right in front of them.

"Still," Yusaku continued, "That wasn't even the most frightening part. What was worse were his eyes. They were the coldest set of blue eyes that I have ever seen in my life. I thought I was going to die as I stood in front of that burning police station with this sword wielding demon walking calmly and menacingly towards me, the one that caused him to go there in the first place."

"How did you get away then?" Shinichi asked.

"He wasn't intending to kill me at that time," Yusaku said, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "He only left me a message."

Flashback

"So, Kyuubi, are you going to kill me now?" Yusaku, putting on a brave front, asked the long haired Naruto.

Yusaku shakily raised his handgun up to shoot.

"No," Naruto said in a tone, completely void of emotion as he knelt down in front of Yusaku, completely ignoring the gun at his heart. "Not yet. There are more effective ways of dealing with people like you. Why kill someone when you can break them? Why take their life when you can leave a permanent scar on their soul? Why end you here when I can let you live with the knowledge that the lives of over a hundred people here today have ended because of you?"

With that, Naruto got up and walked away, leaving behind a burning police station, over a hundred burning corpses, and a completely devastated Yusaku behind."

End Flashback

"Scar the soul?" Shinichi breathed out.

"Yes," Yusaku replied. "Even now, I nightmares that make me relive that night. It was that dream that woke me up this morning before I flew here from America, probably because it is close to the anniversary of that day. All that I can tell you, since you are already involved with this dangerous man who is even more dangerous to you since he knows your secret, is to never betray his trust. If you can capture him within the confines of whatever rules he gave you, he would probably be glad to just stay locked away."

"I see," Shinichi said. "I can see that he is dangerous; being able to kill so many people so easily and just walk away, but I have a feeling that there is a reason behind him. He doesn't seem like an evil guy at all. I want to know how he is so easily capable of doing evil things."

"I don't know, son," Yusaku said. "It is your investigation now. "I will just,"

Yusaku was cut off by the sound of a bag hitting the floor. The three men turned to the entrance to see a brown haired, grade school girl staring at Shinichi with surprise clear on her face.

"Kudo-kun," the girl said slowly. "How?"

"Welcome home, Haibara," Shinichi said with a nervous smile. "Surprise, I guess."

**[1] Kyuu no Ikari- rage of the nine.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here is chapter 7. Sorry it is so late. Just getting back from border patrol that my unit volunteered for. Three weeks without Anime or cell signal to read fics... It was torture. On the plus side, I had time to write this and the next chapter (which will be released in a few hours) as well as a new story. Enjoy.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 7

-  


"So this legendary contract killer just shows up and makes a deal with you where you can get your body back for three days at a time if you successfully solve one of his murders and a whole fifteen days if you are able to follow a set of rules and get him put into prison and if you break these rules or do something else to break his trust in you, he will do something unpleasant; also keeping in mind that his massacre of a hundred people in a single night is just an example of what he thinks is something he considers 'unpleasant'." The brown haired girl paused in her monologue to take a sip of tea. "If I hadn't seen half of the things that you tend to get mixed up in, Kudo-kun, I don't think I could have possibly believed that. Even now it seems quite surreal."

"I'm afraid that a monster like this really does exist," Yusaku said.

"I know," the girl said, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Where are you going, Ai-kun?" the professor asked.

"What are you talking about?" the Ai asked. "We are going to meet this guy."

"What!" Shinichi exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Are you crazy, idiot?" This is not a man that you can simply just go and 'meet' because you are curious about him. He could possibly kill us all if he found out that I revealed his identity to you and the professor."

"I'm sure that he will be just as interested in meeting me when I tell him my circumstances and that I was one of the main developers of the poison that shrunk the two of us," Ai replied. "Besides, I want to see what this man has that he can practically age and de-age himself at will."

Shinichi looked to Agasa for help. The professor just held up his hands and shook his head. Shinichi sighed in resignation.

"Fine," Shinichi said. "After I finish at talking to Ran and dropping this suitcase off at the agency, we will go meet him."

"Oh? So you are moving in with your girlfriend now?" Ai asked with a smug grin. "It's pretty strange seeing as you already live there, you know."

"Idiot!" Shinichi exclaimed, blushing much to the others' amusement. "This is the money he is giving Occhan for the case he hired him for. It should be about ¥1.3 billion in exchange for 'finding' me."

"1.3 billion!" Agasa, Yusaku, and Ai all exclaimed in unison.

"Yes," Shinichi replied. "Apparently, murdering people for money and being extremely good at it is a very profitable business."

"With how long he has been at it and how skilled he is, that shouldn't be surprising at all," Yusaku said. "He was, after all, in the act long before I even had him arrested. I will have to investigate further to find exactly how long."

"Well, I'm heading out now," Shinichi said. "I will see you all later."

**Mouri Detective Office**

"Any luck finding that detective brat?" Kogoro asked his daughter as she walked into the office, returning from school.

"No," Ran replied, sadly. "He hasn't been answering my calls or messages. I saw Naruto-san on my way up, though. He was asking about the case?"

"No," Kogoro replied. "He just came to make small talk and drink a bit." Kogoro was silent for a moment before he slammed his fist on his desk. "Damn that brat!" he exclaimed. "He is keeping ¥1.3 billion away from me. Does he think he can get away with that? I'm going to kill him the next time I see him!"

"Then maybe I shouldn't have come here," a voice came from the doorway. "I'm not really interested in dying any time soon."

"Shinichi/Detective brat!" Ran and Kogoro exclaimed in unison.

"Yo," Shinichi said, holding one hand up in a casual wave while the other held the suitcase.

"What are you doing here?" Ran asked.

"I'm taking a break from this case that I am working on and ran into my parents at the airport," Shinichi replied. "Conan –kun came to the hotel that we are staying at and led me to an Uzumaki-san's house. The man gave me a suitcase and told me to bring it here and go back to his place to talk later on."

"Wait, where is Conan-kun?" Ran asked. "I haven't seen him all day and he wasn't at breakfast."

"Ah!" Shinichi exclaimed, thinking quickly. "He went with my parents."

"So Conan found you?" Kogoro said. "Finally the brat is good for something around here."

"Otou-san!" Ran scolded. "How did Conan-kun find you so easily?"

"He called my parents," Shinichi replied. "As I said, I happened to run into them, so when he called, the three of us were together. I was told that this," he set down and opened up the suitcase, "was to go to you."

Kogoro rushed to the suitcase, his eyes widening to see it filled with the money promised to him. Ran was having a hard time herself, trying to decide whether to focus her gaze on Shinichi or the suitcase that contained more money than she had ever seen in her life at one time. She decided that the money wasn't going anywhere as her father started to count it. Shinichi on the other hand and his habit of disappearing for long periods of time…

"So how long are you taking this break?" Ran asked.

"I'll be here for the entire weekend," Shinichi replied. "Three days is probably the safest I can be away at any given moment. Still, it's good to see you, Ran."

"We're going to celebrate!" Kogoro said, suddenly, giving up on counting the money due to the high amount. "Ran, Brat, we're going to the most expensive place we can find. Call Eri. We might as well invite her along as well. That four eyed brat actually helped, yet he is missing out. Too bad for him!"

The two teens rolled their eyes as Kogoro laughed at Conan's misfortune. Kogoro left the two in order to change into something proper for a high class restaurant. Ran went to the phone at the desk to call Eri, her mother as she was told.

"I think it would be best for you to buy a few necessities before he wastes that away," Shinichi said when Ran was off the phone. "In fact, you should probably give the old man an allowance.

"You know, you are right, Shinichi," Ran said, going to the suitcase. She pulled out one of the stacks of bills and counted out ¥500,000 and placed it on her father's desk. Of that she counted ¥100,000 for herself. She closed the suitcase and took the rest of the money to her room and locked it in her closet.

Kogoro entered the office moments later dressed in a white tuxedo and looked around. "Where is the case of money?" the older detective asked. "Ran! Someone ran off with our billion yen!"

"I put it away," Ran said simply. "I left your monthly allowance on your desk. If you start to show that you can spend money responsibly, I will increase the amount. I don't want this huge fortune to disappear in a single day. ¥400,000 should be enough for now. Shinichi, let's go. Okaa-san told me that we should meet her at her office."

After minutes of screaming protests at being denied the full amount of money, Kogoro gave up and hung his head in defeat. He went to his desk and rolled the ¥400,000 and put it into his inner pocket. He then followed Ran and Shinichi out to the cab that he had called for earlier.

The cab took the three to a law office. Kogoro told the teens to wait in the cab as he went up to his wife's office. Before leaving, he nodded to the cab driver who in turn nodded back to him. As soon as Kogoro entered the building, the cab driver pulled off to the surprise of the two teens still in the cab.

"What are you doing?" Ran asked. "You are driving off without my parents!"

"Sorry," the driver said. "Earlier, your father instructed me to leave as soon as he was inside. Apparently he wants some time alone with her."

"So where are you to take us?" Shinichi asked, calmly.

"I was told to take you back to where I picked you up from," the driver replied. "I apologize for any inconvenience."

"It's not a problem," Shinichi replied. "You are just doing your job."

"I understand," Ran said sighing. Suddenly, she perked up. "So he wants to go to a high class restaurant with Okaa-san alone," she said, now wearing a huge, face splitting smile. "They might be getting back together pretty soon. Isn't that great, Shinichi?"

"Yeah," Shinichi said with a nervous laugh. 'It would be much harder not to blow my cover if Kisaki-senshu is around,' he thought.

"I can't wait!" Ran said, growing even more excited. "We should celebrate on our own, Shinichi."

"True," Shinichi replied. "Later though. I promised that girl at the professor's house that I would take her somewhere after I finished at your house. How about we go for a midnight ride that leads to a picnic by the sea? How does that sound?"

Ran stared at Shinichi for a few moments. Shinichi started to grow nervous, thinking that she was about to refuse.

"Who are you?" Ran asked suddenly, causing Shinichi to stare at her in shock. "The real Shinichi would never think of a romantic date like that."

Shinichi just laughed with Ran joining him seconds later. The cab pulled up to the detective office moments later. Ran got out and walked up to the door.

"I will be here at midnight," Shinichi called out. "Later, Ran!"

With that, the cab pulled off to take Shinichi to the professor's house.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here is chapter 8. It's slightly longer than usual since it goes over both dates. I forgot to mention that the last chapter, when Ran talked about Kogoro blowing the money in one day is in reference to the Similar Princesses case (Episodes 333 and 334) where Kogoro received a job offer for 10 million yen and subsequently racked up a debt of over 8 million. To prevent that from happening again, she took the money from him this time. New story may come out tomorrow. Enjoy.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 8

**Kisaki Law Office**

"So what brings you here by yourself, Tantei-san?" a beautiful, brown haired woman asked as she paused in working on the papers on her desk to address Kogoro who stood in front of her.

"Didn't Ran call you, Eri?" Kogoro asked.

"Yes, she did," Eri replied going back to the papers, "But I don't see Ran anywhere."

"That's because I sent her off with that high school brat detective so the two of us could have dinner alone," Kogoro replied, blushing slightly.

This caused Eri to pause in her work. She looked up and dropped her pen and froze at the sight of the clean shaven, tuxedo clad Kogoro.

"I already have a dress for you ready for our d… date," Kogoro continued, his blush intensifying. "I figured that it's been a while since Ran has seen that brat, so I gave her the day with him. Since the two of us haven't been alone together in years and I happened upon an extremely high paying case, I figured we might as well go out as well."

All Eri could do was nod as she tried to hide her own blush. Moments later, Eri's secretary, Kuriyama Midori, entered the office holding the blue dress that Kogoro had for Eri.

"That… Isn't that?" Eri started.

Kogoro just nodded as the younger woman set the dress down on a chair and gave her boss a knowing grin. Eri shot her a glare causing the young woman to giggle before hurrying out of the office.

"I guess I will be taking off for the day," Eri said, clearing her throat to rid herself off the blush that was threatening to appear on her face. "Excuse me for a moment while I go to the washroom and change.

"Right," Kogoro replied, turning around to hide his own blush.

Eri went to the chair and picked up the dress and went to the washroom where her secretary was waiting with a smile. She held up a brush and a make-up kit.

"Thank you, Kuriyama-san," Eri said as the younger woman got started on Eri's hair and make-up. "I can't believe that we are acting like a couple of high school kids about to go on their first date."

"Well, it has to have been at least 17 years since the two of you have been able to do something like this," the younger woman said. "You should just enjoy yourself tonight. You're going to knock him off of his feet."

Forty minutes later, the two left the washroom and went back to the office. Kogoro's eyes widened at the sight of Eri in the dress, without her glasses, with the light make-up on her face, and with her hair down.

"You… You look…" Kogoro stuttered before clearing his throat. "You look beautiful, Eri."

Eri blushed causing Midori to giggle even more. "You kids should get going," Midori said. "Don't do anything that I wouldn't do," she finished with a wink before pushing the blushing couple out of the office.

**Wind Wave Hotel Restaurant**

"So what brought this on?" Eri asked as the two sat at a table on the top floor of the luxurious western style hotel, the Wind Wave.

"I've wanted to do this for a while, to tell the truth," Kogoro said turning away. "I just never had the money because of the lack of work and I was too…"

"Stupid?" Eri suggested with a smirk causing Kogoro to frown.

"I just didn't have the nerve to ask you since it has been so long," Kogoro continued. "The client for that high paying job was actually the one to suggest that I take a chance and do this."

"Ran did tell me that you had an easy, but high paying case this time," Eri replied taking a sip of wine. "Hopefully you don't blow it all in a day this time."

"I don't think even I can blow ¥1.3 billion that fast," Kogoro replied, also taking a sip of wine.

This caused Eri to choke on her drink. "1.3 billion!" she exclaimed after a coughing fit.

"Yeah," Kogoro replied calmly. "I have been thinking about what to do with it ever since I was offered the case. Ran took it and locked it away before I could do anything though. Left me with only ¥400,000. That brat."

"She is my daughter, you know," Eri said chuckling. "So how did you plan on wasting all of that money?"

"First, of course, is a car since it is expensive paying for rentals that always seem to break down in the middle of nowhere on my way to a client's place," Kogoro replied. "I also thought about getting a nice summer home built in Izu, by the beach."

"Izu?" Eri said, her eyes widening. "By the beach? But that is…"

"I also want to get a house in the city so I can still work," Kogoro continued, turning away from Eri. "Even with this money, I still don't feel like I should retire yet. Still, the house that I was looking at was a little big for just Ran, me, and the four eyes brat. Then Ran is going off to college in about a year and will probably take the brat with her, so I would be in that big house by myself."

"Are you…" Eri started. "Are you asking me to move back in with you?"

Kogoro turned back to face Eri, a serious expression on his face. "I've missed you, Eri," he said. "I really do want you to come back. Now, we can live comfortably and doing what we want with our careers with this money and with how successful we both are in our respective careers. Just think about it, Eri."

Eri was silent for at least five minutes. Kogoro just sat nervously waiting for a response. "It's about time, you idiot," Eri said after a while.

"What?" Kogoro asked, not expecting the answer at all.

"Do you know how long I have been waiting for you to ask me to come back?" she asked. "It's been years. Almost as soon as I left."

"What!" Kogoro exclaimed. "If you wanted to come back, you should have just said so, you stupid woman!"

"What I'm trying to get into your thick skull is that I didn't want to come back until you wanted me to come back," Eri replied.

The two then began screaming insults at each other. After a while, Kogoro finally had enough. "Let's just take this back to your apartment," he said in an angry tone.

"Fine!" Eri replied, just as angrily as the two got up to leave.

"Um, sir, madam," a waiter said, walking to the two before shrinking under their twin glares.

"What!" the two exclaimed in unison.

"Nothing!" the man said, shaking in fear. "Have a nice night."

The waiter then ran to the table to collect the money Kogoro left for the meal and the wine.

**Outside of Eri's Apartment Complex**

The couple had barely left the cab before Eri pushed Kogoro into a wall, initiating a very heated make-out session. They continued into the building, up the elevator, and to Eri's front door, breaking apart during the trip only for brief moments of air before reattaching their lips once again.

"We should call Ran and tell her that you won't be returning tonight," Eri panted out as she fumbled in her bag for her keys.

"She will figure it out," Kogoro said before kissing down Eri's jaw and neck, illicting a moan from the woman.

"I guess she will," Eri's panted, finding her keys and opening the door. "Shall we continue this inside?" she asked in a sultry tone.

Kogoro grinned and followed her inside, shutting the door behind him.

**Mouri Detective Office**

Ran was bouncing around in her bedroom excited dressed in a white sundress as she waited for her date. Every five minutes or so, she would stop and look at the clock by her bed, sigh in disappointment, then start bouncing around the room again.

"I still have another hour to wait," she said after looking at the clock and it read 23:00. "What am I going to do for a whole hour? Conan-kun isn't here and is probably asleep. Sonoko is out of town. Otou-san and Okaa-san…"

Ran was cut off from her rant by the sound of the doorbell. She walked cautiously to the door, not knowing who would be at the door at that time of night. She opened it to see Shinichi standing there, dressed in a white button down shirt with the top two buttons undone and black pants.

"Shin…Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed. "You're early!"

"I figured that you would be driving yourself crazy waiting another hour," Shinichi replied with his signature, cocky smirk on his face. Besides, it would take an hour to get to the place I have ready for the picnic."

"Are you sure that you aren't the one that was going crazy waiting?" Ran asked teasing, causing Shinichi to turn around to hide his embarrassment.

"Idiot!" Shinichi said. "Just go get your bag so we can go."

"Alright," Ran replied, smiling as she went to her bedroom to get her handbag.

Ran returned seconds later. Shinichi took her hand after she locked the front door, and led her to a cab that was waiting outside.

"Maybe we should have waited for one of us to have a license before we do something like this," Ran said. "That or have one of our parents drive. I can only imagine how much it will cost for a cab to take us to and from somewhere an hour away."

"Same old Ran," Shinichi said, chuckling. "Even after your father got that huge amount of money, you still think economically. Still, don't worry about it tonight. The driver is actually a big fan of Kaa-san's. He's doing this as a favor to her. She was so excited when I told her about the plan for tonight."

"She will probably be somewhere hiding with a camera trying to capture everything," Ran replied, giggling.

The cab driver's eyes widened in surprise. His distraction caused him to swerve into the other lane, almost colliding with an incoming car. He managed to regain control and swerve back into his lane before an accident happened.

"Sorry about that," the driver said in his gruff tone as Shinichi and Ran held onto each other, shocked to the core. "Just a small steering error. It shouldn't be a problem for the rest of the night."

"Are we going to be safe in this?" Ran asked in a whispered tone.

"We'll be fine," Shinichi replied. "Kaa-san's driving is worse than this, remember?"

"Yeah," Ran said, still not entirely convinced as the cab driver suddenly turned a corner hard, causing the two teens to hit Shinichi's door.

"Probably," Shinichi added.

**Beach**

After getting out of the cab, Ran stared at the sight in front of her with wide eyes. On the beach was a large blanket with a basket and an assortment of different foods, all her favorites, as well as a narrow glass vase that held a single rose surrounded by four small, tea light candles.

"Shall we?" Shinichi asked the frozen girl, holding out his arm.

Ran nodded, unable to speak. She took Shinichi's arm and let him lead her to the picnic that was set up.

"This really is romantic," Ran said as the two sat down and began to eat. "And since we are alone, we won't have to worry about a case happening in front of us to interrupt this time."

"We don't get a chance like this very often," Shinichi replied. "When we do, we should make the most of it."

"Why are you away so much anyway?" Ran asked. "It's not like you to spend so much time on one case."

Shinichi was silent for a moment. 'What did Tou-san say about Uzumaki? Never lies, but never tells the entire truth?' he thought, trying to think of an excuse. "My current case is just that difficult," he said. "I am undercover while investigating an extremely dangerous organization that has spies pretty much everywhere. I haven't told you before because of how dangerous they are and if they were to find my identity, I and practically everyone that I care about will be targeted. Getting away from them is also impossible as they have been able to kill FBI agents in the past. Recently though, I came across an 'ally' who can help me get away more often like this weekend, but I still won't be around as much as I would like."

"I see," Ran said sadly, taking a sip of the tea that was in the basket.

"As I said, Ran," Shinichi continued, "We just need to enjoy the time that I do have free." With that, Shinichi suddenly leaned over and placed a kiss on Ran's cheek and chuckled as he watched her turn bright red.

After the two finished eating and putting away the food and dishes, they just lay down on the blanket and looked up at the stars, enjoying the sound of the waves.

"I really wish we could stay like this forever," Ran said.

"One day, Ran," Shinichi whispered to himself.

"What was that, Shinichi?" Ran asked.

"Nothing," Shinichi replied. "We've just been creating all kinds of scenes for Kaa-san to get on camera, haven't we?" he asked, hastily trying to change the subject.

"What!" Ran exclaimed. "Your mother is here?"

Shinichi led Ran back to the cab and stopped in front of the driver's door where the driver appeared to be asleep.

"Very sneaky, Kaa-san," Shinichi said.

"How did you know?" the cab driver said in a feminine voice. To Ran's surprise, he pulled off a wig to reveal long brown hair. He then ripped off his face, revealing a beautiful woman.

"Hi there, Ran-chan!" Yukiko said.

"I first became suspicious when you were surprised when Ran and I were talking about you spying on us," Shinichi said. "Then, of course, the reckless driving. My suspicions were confirmed when I noticed a flashing light every so often. With the lack of rain, it couldn't have been lightning, so I figured that it was a camera."

"Hee hee. You caught me," Yukiko said. "So, Ran-chan, did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yes," Ran replied, completely red at the thought of being watched the entire time by the older woman.

"I bet you did," Yukiko replied. "I have so many pictures to remember this night! Oh I can't wait to put this in my album. Ran-chan and Shin-chan's first date as a couple. It was so beautiful that I could hardly believe that my Shin-chan actually planned it all."

"Kaa-san!" Shinichi exclaimed, face almost as red as Ran's.

Yukiko just giggled and pulled the two teens into a hug. "Now let's go play in the sea!" she said before dragging the two back towards the beach.

**Uzumaki Mansion**

Naruto stood on the roof of his mansion with a glass in his hand as he watched the moon.

"It's a pretty nice night, isn't it?" a voice came from behind Naruto.

"How did you get here?" Naruto asked without turning around.

"You know that a magician never reveals his tricks," said the voice belonging to a Japanese man of around 40. "Besides, you already knew that I was here before I said anything." The man held up a bottle of brown liquid that read _Remy Martin X. _"Refill?"

"Thanks," Naruto replied, allowing the man to refill his glass.

"A man that can save everyone that he meets except for himself," the man said as the two looked up at the moon.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"That is how that woman described you," the man replied. "After today, I am inclined to agree. I saw what you did for that detective. Mouri, was it? Giving him that talk and advice that successfully got him back with his wife."

"Still, I didn't expect for that lawyer to be into that bondage stuff[1]," Naruto said chuckling as he took a sip of his drink. "What I saw through my 'spy camera' was pretty interesting."

"I also saw what you did for the nidaime brat," the man continued, ignoring the blonde's comment about the married couple. "You really are too nice to be able to kill like you can."

"That's what makes me such a monster," Naruto replied, taking another sip of his drink. "It is also why I am beyond saving. I can commit such acts of terror and continue on like it was nothing."

"You are definitely not beyond saving," the man replied. "You just have to find someone that's able to save you." The two noticed a figure approaching the front gate. "Ah! It looks like the shodai is here to speak to you. Try not to kill him."

With that, the man jumped off of the roof. With a puff of smoke, he was gone without a trace. Naruto just smirked and looked up at the sky. Thanks to his enhanced vision, he was able to see the man dressed completely in dark clothing flying on a black hang glider with a smirk on his face. Naruto shook his head.

"Still the show off, I see, Toichi," he said to himself. Now, to see what this man wants.

**[1] Also reference to Detective Conan episodes 333 and 334 (Similar Princesses Case)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I was sitting in my room on my lonely birthday a few days ago and decided since I had a rare day off, I would watch a few old Detective Conan episodes and get ideas for this story. While doing this, I noticed, to my horror, that the White Day case (which I had this story set immediately after) came before the London case. I had it the other way around in my mind, especially while writing the previous chapter. Eventually, I decided not to worry about it. In this story, they happened the other way around. Anyway, enjoy chapter 9.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 9

_A tall man with long, flowing, blond hair stood at the window of his top floor hotel suite, looking out at the city below with an impassive look on his whiskered face and a glass of his favorite drink, Remy Martin XO, in his hand. Naruto's impassive look turned into a frown when he sensed someone at his door. Without turning away from the window, he discreet drew a throwing knife from his sleeve and waited as the person on the other side of the door picked the lock._

_As soon as the person got the door open and took a step inside, they found themselves pinned to the door, once again closed, with a knife to their throat._

"_Is this a new greeting, Oji-sama?" the person, a blond haired woman who looked to be in her early twenties, said, smirking at Naruto even with the knife to her throat._

_Naruto looked at the woman for a moment, and then released her, smiling softly. "You always could find me when I disappear, Shiraga-chan__[1]__," he said, ruffling the woman's hair, causing her to scowl at him._

"_Must you always call me that?" the woman asked. _

"_Of course," Naruto replied. "You are the one that got her first gray hair at nine years old."_

"_Whose fault do you think that is?" the woman muttered to herself. _

"_So what can I do for you, Shiraga-chan?" Naruto asked. "You didn't go out of your way to find me just to ask about your nickname, did you?"_

"_Of course not," the woman replied, "Especially with how difficult you make finding you to be. I heard about what happened in Los Angeles. I also heard about why it happened."_

_Naruto's smile turned into a frown. He walked over to the window and picked up his glass._

"_I figured that you would be brooding over it," the woman continued. "I know from experience that when you brood, bad things happen all over the place. So I came to invite you to the organization that I am a part of. Once my boss heard about you and what you did in Los Angeles, he wanted to draft you. He was even more ecstatic when he heard about the history the two of us have."_

"_I guess it couldn't hurt," Naruto replied. "Would I get a cool codename when I join?"_

"_Of course," the woman replied, chuckling at Naruto's antics. "Mine… is Vermouth."_

**Uzumaki Mansion**

Naruto woke up as the first signs of daylight invaded his room. He scowled at the light that interrupted his sleep. He turned to his alarm clock to see that it read 5 am. He scowled again before sighing. He stretched and yawned before getting out of his bed and going downstairs to his ramen cabinet. He selected ten cups and started to boil water in a huge kettle.

"Well, I might as well get ready for the day," he said before heading upstairs while the water boiled.

**Teitan Elementary School**

"So you have turned back into your child form?" Ai asked as Conan sat down next to her in their classroom.

"Yes," Conan replied. "It happened sometime early this morning. It was anywhere near as painful as transforming back with your antidotes."

Ai scowled at that. "So why were you and your girlfriend staying at the professor's last night?" she asked. "Do you know how tiring it was to try to keep up my little girl persona for the entire day? That house is supposed to be where I am able to cut back to my normal self."

'I didn't notice much of a difference between the two,' Conan thought, wisely deciding not to voice it aloud. "If you saw what Ran and I did, you wouldn't want to go back to the detective office either."

"What happened?" Ai asked.

"The morning after our date, the two of us went to Kisaki-sensei's place to see if the two wanted to have breakfast with Ran and me," Shinichi said. "When we got to the apartment, we noticed that the door was opened a little. Fearing the worst, we rushed inside to find the old man tied up on the couch with Kisaki-sensei on top of him. Both were asleep and completely nude."

Ai's eyes widened in horror before she tried to shake the mental image out of her head. "I think I am going to be sick just imagining it," she said. "I understand now. Good luck living with that memory for the rest of your life, Kudo-kun."

Conan just scowled at the chuckling girl. Before he could reply, their homeroom teacher, Kobayashi Sumiko, entered the room.

"Alright everyone," Kobayashi-sensei said, bringing the class of first year grade-schoolers to attention. "Before I take attendance, I would like to introduce you to my new assistant teacher. Come on in, Uzumaki-kun."

With that, the door slid open. Naruto, much to Conan's shock, casually walked in with a charming smile on his face.

"Good morning, everyone," Naruto said with a smile that made Kobayashi-sensei and the grade school girls stare at him with a dreamy expression on their faces. "I am the new assistant teacher for your class, Uzumaki Naruto. You can just call me Naruto-sensei. I'm here for anyone that needs help, especially boys with issues that you aren't comfortable talking to a female teacher and girls who are having trouble dealing with the minds and hearts of young boys. I hope we can have a fun time together."

With the end of his introduction, Naruto flared a subtle amount of chakra laced with killing intent. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the brown haired girl sitting next to Conan react while no one else did. He looked down at the roster and smirked before schooling his face into his previous charming smile.

Ai just sat in her seat, trembling in fear. 'This man is incredibly dangerous,' she thought to herself. 'Why is someone like that here? He seems to be on a completely different level than anyone from the Organization, maybe even the boss. He must have been hired directly by the boss to take Kudo-kun and me out. This can't be good. I need to wan Kudo-kun, but can we really escape someone as dangerous as this?'

**Lunch Break**

"I need to talk to you," Conan said to Naruto as most of the other kids took out their lunches.

"Alright then, Edogawa-kun," Naruto replied kindly. "Let's go to the staff room so we can have a bit of privacy."

As the two walked down the hall, Naruto kept his charming smile, causing many of the female teachers to blush as he greeted them. Conan just looked up at Naruto suspiciously.

"What are you planning?" Conan asked when they got to the staff room which was empty due to most of the teachers eating lunch while watching their students.

"I want to seduce all of the female teachers at this school and build myself a giant harem to take over the world," Naruto replied with a straight face. "Maybe I should go for the single mothers of the students as well."

Conan looked up at Naruto, completely shocked at what he had heard. Naruto fell onto the floor, laughing at the look on Conan's face.

"I'm joking," Naruto said after a while. "It would be too troublesome to deal with so many girls at once."

"So you are here to keep an eye on me?" Conan asked.

"Actually, it's the other way around," Naruto replied. He chuckled at the confused look on Conan's face. "Your father came to visit me and asked me to take a job here so that you can keep an eye on me. He made me an offer that I couldn't refuse. It was really the only reason why I didn't kill him on the spot."

Someone that can randomly give a billion yen to an incompetent detective has no real need for money," Conan said. "What could my father, a man that you yourself said that you hate enough to kill, give you to actually get you to do a favor for him?"

Naruto was silent for a moment. He reached into his pocket to pull out a slip of paper that he caressed as if it were the most precious item in the world. "He received an invitation to the world ramen making contest that takes place during spring break as a guest judge. He allowed me to take his place if I came to work in your class. Can you imagine? All you can eat ramen made by the best ramen chefs in the world."

"Ramen…" Conan said slowly with disbelief.

"Also he gave me a collection of swimsuit photos of your mother and many of her friends," Naruto continued with a perverse grin on his face.

"Swimsuits!" Conan exclaimed in horror. "My mother?"

"Each photo signed and stamped with a kiss mark and a group photo with them all in a huge pool of ramen, "Naruto said. "Do you want to see it? You are a growing boy after all."

"Shut up!" Conan exclaimed before rushing out of the room.

Naruto just chuckled to himself as he started to eat his own lunch. "Ah! I forgot to ask him about Haibara Ai," he said. "Oh well. My ramen is calling me.

**[1] Gray hair, Naruto's nickname for Vermouth.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Chapter 10 is finally here. I've been pretty lazy the past week, even at work. I did start typing a second story when I was completely overrun with ideas for another. I'm not sure how I will manage three stories, but we will see.  
**

**We now have the first meeting between Naruto and Ai. I am having a little trouble thinking of Naruto's nickname for her. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Enjoy.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 10

**Teitan Elementary School**

"Kudo-kun, where did you go with that man earlier?" Ai whispered to Conan as the two sat in their seats in the classroom.

"Uzumaki-sensei?" Conan asked in a bored tone. "We went to the staff room. That guy really pissed me off."

"We need to get away from him," Ai replied. "That man is extremely dangerous."

"I know," Conan replied.

"You know!" Ai exclaimed while rising to her seat, causing everyone in the room to turn and look at her. She blushed and sat back down. "You can't possibly think to try to monitor him. What if…"

"He is the guy I was telling you about the other day," Conan replied. "You know the one that had some kind of drug that restored my body for the weekend. He is also the one that my father arrested and broke from the prison killing a hundred people in the process."

"That's him?" Ai asked, her eyes widening. "Why is he here then? Is he here to keep an eye on you?"

Conan, much to Ai's surprise, scowled at the question. "Tou-san bribed him into coming here so I can watch him."

"Bribed?" Ai asked. "But with the money he has, what could your father have given him?"

Conan's scowl increased. "Don't worry about what that perverted bastard got," he said angrily.

Ai was surprised at seeing how angry Conan got. She decided not to question it. 'I guess I will try talking to him myself.' She thought.

**After School**

As soon as Kobayashi-sensei dismissed the class for the day, Ai went to Naruto. Naruto was looking at the class roster and writing down what he observed about each student when he noticed Ai walking toward his desk at the back of the classroom.

"Ah! Haibara-kun," Naruto said with his charming smile. "I wasn't really expecting to deal with a girl's problem this early on, especially when you have Kobayashi-sensei who I am sure that you all are much more comfortable with. Still, I will help you nonetheless. So, what can I do for you?"

"I…" Ai started, but hesitated. "Kudo-kun told me about how you were the one that… helped him."

"Oh?" Naruto said with a hidden motion toward the knife he had hidden under his desk while keeping the charming smile on his face. "Is that so?"

"I was just curious about why you would do that," Ai replied.

"Oh?" Naruto said. "Curiosity can be a very dangerous thing. Isn't that how Kudo-kun got into his situation in the first place?"

"I…" Ai paused, thinking how much information to divulge. "This place isn't secure," she said, deciding to just tell him everything since he would probably figure it all out anyway. "Can we continue this at another location?"

Naruto contemplated this for a moment before nodding. "I guess we can talk about this at my house then," he replied. "Since I'm sure young Kudo has told you who I am, you know that my house is probably one of the most secure places in all of Tokyo."

"Also the place where you can take me out if you have to," Ai muttered.

"Only if it comes to that," Naruto replied with a smile. "Since it is my first day, I don't have to stay behind with the other teachers, so we can go now, if you want."

"That is fine," Ai said as the two left the room.

Naruto led Ai to the teachers' parking lot where a black Koenigsegg Agera R was parked. Ai's eyes widened for a fraction of a second when Naruto opened the door. Naruto smiled proudly at her reaction.

"She is a beauty, isn't she?" Naruto asked. "She is one of the fastest cars in the world before my own personal modifications. The body, the windows, and the tires are all bulletproof. So, get in."

Ai could only nod before getting into the passenger seat of the car. Naruto started the car. As soon as Ai had buckled her seatbelt, Naruto had shot off.

**Naruto's Living Room**

"So, Haibara-kun, what would you like to talk about?" Naruto asked, digging into a cup of ramen as he sat across from Ai.

"I am…" Ai started before taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh. "My name is an alias created for me after I was turned into a grade school girl because of a certain poison."

Naruto froze with his chopstick and noodles halfway to his mouth. "I see," he said, finishing off the cup in a split second before setting it down on the table next to a stack ten high. "So you are like Kudo-kun," he said.

"Yes, I am," Ai replied. "But, I wasn't a high school girl before I shrunk. I was actually part of the team that developed the poison."

This revelation actually caused Naruto to completely stop his eating. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat in a thinking pose.

"The organization had my older sister killed," Ai continued. "Because of that, I tried to leave the organization, but I was captured and slated to be executed. I decided to die on my own terms instead of subjecting myself to the tortures that they undoubtedly would have put me through. I had one last capsule of the poison, so I took it in order to get a quick death."

"Instead, you were transformed into a kid," Naruto finished for her. "Because of that, you were able to escape and are even now able to hide from them since they are searching for an adult."

"That is correct," Ai replied.

"So you came to me in order to transform back?" Naruto asked. "I guess it would be inconvenient trying to live as a kid again."

"Not at all," Ai replied to Naruto's surprise. "I simply came here to talk to the person who is able to bypass my poison so easily. I may not like that I made it, but it is still a bit of a blow to my pride that someone is able to counteract it at will. There is no one waiting for my adult self except for those that want me dead. I am a deserter from the organization after all."

"So you have a better life now?" Naruto asked.

"Much better," Ai replied. "For the first time in my life, I have friends that care about me and I don't have to make poisons that are meant to kill people anymore. I can actually live a normal childhood."

"Ah," Naruto said with a sad smile on his face. "That is something others can only dream of."

As soon as the look on his face appeared, it disappeared and turned back into the charming smile from before. This caused Ai to blink, wondering if she was just imagining things.

"Well, I am happy for you, Haibara-kun," Naruto said. "If what you said about how you feel about your life is true, Haibara Ai is no longer just an alias. Whoever you used to be is dead. Whatever you used to do doesn't matter anymore. I hope you enjoy your new life for as long as you live it, Haibara-kun. It has been a pleasure talking to you, but I just remembered a few things from my main job that I have to attend to."

"But I still…" Ai started.

"If you need to talk again, you know where to find me," Naruto replied with a smile that actually caused Ai's heart to skip a beat.

"But, I…" Ai started again, but then sighed. "Have a good evening then, Uzumaki-san."

"That's Uzumaki-sensei," Naruto said with a smirk that annoyed Ai for some reason. "You are not an adult woman anymore. You are a grade school girl and I am your teacher."

"You are my teacher's assistant, Uzumaki-SAN," Ai replied, stressing the honorific, trying and succeeding to annoy Naruto.

"You will address me as, sensei," Naruto said, frowning.

"I won't," Ai said smirking. "Once you actually become a teacher instead of a Kudo Shinichi stalker, I will consider it."

Ai hurried from the house, leaving Naruto to mutter to himself.

"Should I really be angering someone that can wipe out an entire police force by himself?" Ai asked herself as she walked away from the mansion. She shrugged it off. "It's amusing to see such a dangerous man act so childish and cute at such simple things." Ai froze in shock and shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of those thoughts. "It must be a flux of my hormones," she told herself. "It sucks going through puberty when I already have my adult hormones."

**Uzumaki Mansion-Late Night  
**  
Naruto stood up in front of the large window in his study, looking out at the moon. In his hand was a glass of his favorite drink.

"I can't believe that I lost it like that for a moment," he said before taking a sip from his glass. "It must be jealousy, seeing someone who has been alone all her life get a second chance. I've been alone for more than a thousand years, long enough for it to be normal to be alone. Why do I still feel jealous? It must be because I have been bored."

Naruto finished his drink and sighed. "I need some ramen."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Chapter 11 has now arrived alongside the release of my second story, a Naruto/ToLoveRU crossover with other crossover elements to be included in the future. It came to me in about two minutes as I was waiting for the download of ToLoveRU Darkness to complete and the desire to write fight scenes (which I obviously can't write in this story).  
**

**The Detective Boys are introduced here as well as a new case. The case after this will be a Canon case where Naruto will just be along for the ride with everyone's favorite comedy duo. Thanks for reading, favoriting, and reviewing. Enjoy.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 11

"_Welcome, Uzumaki Naruto," a distorted voice echoed through the pitch black room that Naruto sat in. "I apologize for conducting this interview in this manner when I am the one that requested to meet you."_

"_I understand your need to take precautions when dealing with one as dangerous as myself," Naruto replied in an emotionless tone, "Even if said precautions are useless against someone as dangerous as I am. I can easily see through this dark to see that there are three exits to this room, the one from which I entered and one to my left and right. At each exit are two guards, cannon fodder if I had the desire to make a move against your organization, each armed with a Howa Type 89 Assault Rifle. They are all staring at me with a mixture of shock and fear with their weapons aimed at me should I make a move. I also can conclude that you yourself are not present in this building from the sound of the radio that your voice is coming from. A wise decision seeing that what happened in Los Angeles can easily happen here." Naruto paused to look at the shaking guards. "But, as I said," he continued," these precautions are useless if I wanted to make a move against you. I could easily capture and torture as many people as I want to find you and take you out. However, I am here to join your organization, not discuss the many ways that I can locate you and slowly make you bleed out as you scream in vain for death to claim you."_

_There was a long silence in the room as Naruto's eyes glowed red in the dark. The silence was broken when all of the guards dashed out of the room, leaving Naruto to chuckle darkly._

"_You truly are a terrifying person, Uzumaki Naruto," the distorted voice said after a while. "You will do well as an asset for the organization."_

"_As long as I am kept amused, I will," Naruto replied. "When I am bored and you are unable to sate my boredom any longer, I will leave, peacefully and without using any secrets I have against you unless you make a move against me."_

"_Very well, Uzumaki Naruto," the distorted voice said. "You will now be known as Cognac. You can call me…"_

**Teitan Elementary, After School**

"It's been forever since we've had a case," a large, tanned, grade school boy said as he walked out of the elementary school building with Conan, Ai, a skinny boy, and a girl.

"You say that as if it were a bad thing, Genta," Conan replied in a bored tone.

"Of course it is a bad thing!" the large boy, Genta replied. "We are the Detective Boys. We aren't doing our jobs if we aren't out solving cases. Geez! You can be so stupid sometimes, Conan."

"Conan-kun is just saying that because he is always off solving cases with Mouri-ojisan," the skinny boy said.

"That's right!" Genta exclaimed. "Conan is always solving mysteries without us. Maybe we should hang around his place until a case comes along."

"We can't do that or Oji-san will get mad at us again." The girl said.

"Besides, he and Ran-neechan are going to be busy packing things up for the move," Conan replied.

"What! You are moving, Conan-kun?" the girl asked with tears threatening to fall.

"Yeah," Conan replied. "Eri-obasan is moving back in. Kogoro-ojisan decided that the apartment isn't big enough," 'Especially since he doesn't want me in the room when they do their night activities,' "So he is buying a house somewhere around here."

"Oh," the girl said, relieved that her crush wasn't moving far away.

"What about the office?" Ai asked, speaking up for the first time.

"He said that he will still use it until the lease is up," Conan replied. "I'm just curious to see if that lazy old man would actually be able to commute to work every day."

"That shouldn't be a problem," a voice said from behind the group.

"Ran-neechan/san!" the group, minus Ai, exclaimed in unison when they turned to see Ran dressed in her school uniform.

"Good afternoon, Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun, Ayumi-chan, Ai-chan," Ran said.

"What are you doing here, Ran-neechan," Conan asked. "I thought you were still packing for the move."

"Everything is already finished," Ran replied. "Okaa-san just told me to get you so we can get everything set up in the new house."

"Already?" Conan exclaimed. "Didn't you just start yesterday? What about Eri-obasan's things from her apartment?"

"Otou-san hired some people from a moving company," Ran replied. "It is owned by Naruto-san, so we got a very good discount and the fastest service that they could provide."

"Uzumaki-sensei owns a moving company?" the grade school girl, Ayumi asked.

"Yes," Ran replied, "As well as many hotels, restaurants, and other businesses around the country. He said that he even has a few places overseas. That's why I was surprised that he suddenly became a teacher's assistant at your grade school."

"He certainly is a strange person," Ai said.

"Oh!" Ran exclaimed. "He never told us what his main job was that he needed all of those skills that Conan-kun observed. I'll just ask him when I see him next. Well, let's go, Conan-kun."

"Can we come see the house too, Ran-san?" Ayumi asked.

"Of course," Ran said with a smile.

Ran led the group of grade school kids to a modest sized, two story house. The group went inside to see Kogoro and Eri in the kitchen, faces glued to each other. Everyone just stared at the couple, faces contorted in a mixture of shock and disgust.

Ai was the first to break from the state of shock. "It's like they are newlyweds again," she said. "I can only pity you two for what is to come at night."

"Haibara!" Conan exclaimed angrily.

Conan's outburst was heard by the couple. They broke apart hastily, looked at the group, and turned away from each other, faces red.

"Um, would you kids like something to drink?" Eri asked in an attempted to quell the awkward air.

Before anyone could answer, a loud scream was heard from outside. The group instantly jumped up and rushed outside. The sight that they came upon was three men kneeling around and yelling at a person that was face down with blood flowing from the head.

"Out of the way!" Kogoro exclaimed rushing to the person's side. "I'm a detective."

Kogoro carefully rolled the person over to reveal a woman with her face contorted in horror. He pressed his index finger and middle finger to her neck to check for a pulse. After a short moment, he shook his head.

"The game begins, Kudo Shinichi," Conan heard a voice whisper.

Conan's eyes widened. He looked around for the origin of the voice, but didn't see any changes to the scene. He clenched his fists before looking back at the woman with narrowed eyes.

"So you really are a monster," Conan said. "You treat killing people as if it were a game. I will see to it that you are caught and put away."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: After over a month's wait, I finally finished Chapter 12. As you may have noticed, it is considerably longer than previous chapter. Truthfully, I have no idea what happened. I was just going along and looked up at the calender and noticed that it wasn't July anymore. I did slow down a bit to see the latest case in the Detective Conan Anime where I heard that Yukiko and Vermouth meet up after so long. That is definitely something that I am looking forward to watching as it is perfect for Naruto in this story given the history he has with both women. I am also having trouble deciding on Naruto's nickname for Ai.  
**

**The next chapter of The New Deviluke should be posted tomorrow or late tonight (For those in the Pacific Time Zone). For now, enjoy this extra long chapter as it was a pain to write this much. I don't see how others write chapters twice as long on a regular basis. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or Naruto

"Talking"

'Thinking'

The Demon and the Detective

Chapter 12

"So the victim's name is Katahara Suzume, age 44," Megure said as he and the other homicide officers stood around the body of the dead woman that lived across from the Mouris' new home.

"Cause of death is blunt trauma most likely caused from falling from the second floor veranda that exits from her bedroom," Takagi continued. "A cell phone was found clutched in the victim's hand. It was broken in the fall, but our analysts are looking in to see when and from where the last call was placed. Katahara-san was the owner of a company that bought profitable, but in-danger-of-failing companies that is rumored to have ties with yakuza, using intimidation in order to get owners to sell their companies."

"Yes," an average height man with short hair and narrow framed glasses, one of the men who initially found the body, said. "She bought the company we belong to about three months ago and is having us install a new security system in her house."

"And the one that just happened to be moving into the house directly across the street…" Megure continued, scowling at Kogoro who grinned sheepishly.

"It's just a coincidence, Keibu-dono," Kogoro said.

"You should have told me that you were moving, you idiot!" Megure exclaimed, grabbing a surprised Kogoro by the collar. "We could have already had offcers stationed o prevent anyone from dying from your curse."

"I don't think that it is that detective's presence or curse that caused that wench to die," another of the security company employees, a short, heavy set bald man, said causing everyone to turn toward him. "Someone was bound to off her anyway. It's a shame that she went by herself before someone else could do it."

"You are right, Toshimaru," the third man, a tall, muscular man, with shoulder length black hair tied in a ponytail said. "I guess we should consider this a rather fortunate accident."

"Hey!" Kogoro exclaimed. "Someone has died and you are treating this as if it is some kind of blessing?"

"Because it is," the bald man said. "If I weren't so afraid of going to jail, I would have done it myself ages ago."

"Hey!" the childish voice of Conan called suddenly, causing everyone to snap to the direction of the body where Conan was kneeling by her right leg. "What is this scar on this lady's leg? It looks like something has been wrapped around her ankle."

"You stupid brat!" Kogoro exclaimed, hitting Conan on the back of the head before grabbing him and tossing him away from the body towards the Detective Boys. "Stay out of the way!"

"Keibu!" Takagi exclaimed, kneeling where Conan was moments prior, "He is right! There is a fresh scar on the victim's ankle. Ii's weird though. The scar is only on one leg."

"It looks like she was wearing an ankle bracelet," Kogoro said. "It is possible that it was caught on something and while she was trying to free her leg, she fell over the railing and died."

"Alright! Search around for an ankle bracelet that looks to have broken or fallen off." Megure ordered with most of the officers dispersing in search of the piece of jewelry."

"What' wrong, Conan-kun?" Mitsuhiko asked Conan in a whisper as he and the rest of the Detective Boys gathered around Conan who was in his signature thinking pose.

"Something doesn't add up," Conan replied, speaking mostly to himself. "If an anklet broke off as she was trying to free her leg, the scar would only be on one side of the ankle, the part that was being pressed against the skin. Here, however, it is around the entire ankle. Someone tied something else on her leg for some reason."

"So you think that someone killed her?" Genta asked. "But how will someone tie something around her ankle without her noticing it?"

"It would be simple if the culprit is a professional killer," Conan said through gritted teeth as he glared at where the three men were talking amongst themselves.

"You think that this is his doing?" Ai asked in a tone where only Conan could hear.

"Yeah," Conan replied. "I heard someone whisper to me, 'The game has begun.'"

"After meeting him myself, it's hard to imagine him as that incredibly dangerous monster that your father described," Ai replied.

"That is true, but you cannot deny that taking people's lives and treating it as a game isn't evil," Conan replied.

"On that same note, though, you detectives are the same," Ai replied. "Don't you enjoy solving cases, especially when someone is killed? The more complex and difficult the case is, the better. IT's just like a puzzle to you, am I right, Tantei-san?"

"You are defending him?" Conan asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course not," Ai replied. "I was just pointing out the similarities that the two of you share. Though he is considerably more laid back than you are about his 'game'"

Conan was about to retort when he heard an officer yell, "Found it!"

The group turned to see the officer that was searching the veranda holding up a small, silver chain. He brought it down to the crime scene where the other officers, Ran, Kogoro, and Eri gathered to match the size of the anklet to the wound on the victim's leg.

"It looks like a perfect match in size and shape to the scar," Megure said as the officer that found the anklet held it close to the scar. "Good work, men."

Conan's frown deepened. 'So he planted that anklet there to misdirect us,' he thought. A look of confusion suddenly came across his face. "That's weird," he said aloud. "Why is she only wearing one slipper?"

"It doesn't matter you stupid brat," Kogoro said. "She probably lost the other one when she fell."

"Then where did it go?" Conan asked. "If she fell right over the railing, shouldn't the other slipper either still be on or close to the body? But, if she was thrown from the veranda, it might have gotten kicked off while she was flailing."

"We did see notice a slipper that was turned over in her bedroom," Takagi said.

"Also," Conan continued, "That anklet looks pretty expensive. If I was the one wearing it and it got caught, I wouldn't risk breaking it by trying to force it free, I would unhook it with my hands and slip it free safely."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "That means this must be a…" Megure stuttered.

"Exactly," Conan said, "A murder. The culprit has to be one of the only ones in the house while the victim was there; one of those three." Conan pointed to the three men and everyone turned to face them.

"We will go right ahead and do individual questioning," Megure said. "Mouri-kun, would it be alright to use a room in your place?"

"It's not a problem, Keibu-dono," Kogoro replied. "Right this way."

Before the two left with the bald man, Conan tripped and landed in front of Kogoro.

"Heh, heh, heh, sorry," Conan replied, attempting to quell Kogoro's rising anger by flashing a cute, childish smile. An attempt that…"

"Get out of the way brat!"

…utterly failed as Conan was kicked out of the way by an angry Kogoro. Conan just muttered angry curses under his breath as he rubbed his aching side.

"Are you alright, Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked as the man was led to the Mouri Home by Kogoro, Megure, and a pair of officers.

"I'm fine, Ayumi-chan," Conan said, giving the girl a reassuring smile. He turned a dial on one of the ends of his glasses' frame. "I got what I wanted anyway.

**Questioning Room**

"So your name is Kuneshita Toshimaru," Megure said as he and Kogoro sat on a pair of cardboard boxes across from the bald man.

"Yes," the man replied. "I am the one responsible for installing the equipment."

"What do you mean," Kogoro asked.

"In our company, our guys are dispatched in three man teams," Kuneshita replied. "Each man is specialized in one aspect of the job even though we are trained to do all of them if someone is running late or is sick. There is the installations guy, the wiring guy, and the computer guy. We used to have ten teams, but when that wench blackmailed the president into selling the company to her, it was cut down to just three. Junpei's younger brother was one of the ones that she cut. She claimed that she was saving the company by cutting down on labor costs, but we were doing fine before she took over."

"But, it is true that profits have increased greatly since she took over," Megure stated.

"Yeah, her profits," Kuneshita said bitterly. "Because of that, Junpei's brother, who was about to get married, killed himself."

"Suicide!" Megure and Kogoro exclaimed.

"Yeah," Kuneshita replied. "Because he lost his job, he couldn't afford a wedding. He had already taken out loans to cover the cost before and was in a good deal of debt. His fiancée, figuring that he wouldn't be able to support them both, called everything off. He moved in with Junpei, but eventually killed himself a couple of weeks ago in his grief."

"Is there a reason why he was cut?" Kogoro asked.

"Kuneshita just scoffed. "That woman was the devil. She just chose the people who seemed to need their jobs the most," he said bitterly.

"So, when she fell, what were you doing?" Kogoro asked.

"I was setting alarms on the kitchen window," Kuneshita replied. "I had finished setting up the camera there, so all that was left was the sensor. I saw Junpei right across the hall in the living room hooking the cameras up to the TV. He had a perfect view of the woman as she fell. Since I was outside, I never had a chance to watch it. I'm so jealous."

"You really hated her, didn't you?" Kogoro asked.

"Of course," Kuneshita said through gritted teeth. "That… that… wench made me massage her feet whenever we had a company run. She didn't even wash them before she made me do it. Each and every time the smell…. The sweat… Her feet were so…"

"That's quite enough," Megure said, cutting Kuneshita off. "You can go now." He then turned to the two officers guarding the door. "Please call Takahara Junpei so we can question him."

**With the Detective Boys**

Conan went up to the victim's room as he listened to Megure and Kogoro question Kuneshita through his glasses and the transmitter that he placed in Kogoro's shoe. He didn't notice that the kids were following him until he suddenly, getting run over by Genta.

"What are you guys doing here?" Conan demanded angrily.

"What are you talking about, Conan-kun?" Mitsuhiko asked. "We are the Detective Boys. A case has happened right in front of us and you expect us not to investigate?"

Conan just groaned, muttering something about stupid kids getting in the way all of the time.

"Why did you stop anyway?" Genta asked.

"I was thinking," Conan replied. "Katahara-san seemed to be a pretty fit woman, right?" The others nodded in response. "Then don't you find it odd? Even the strongest of those three would have had to fight her to throw her from the window if she was grabbed inside the room like the dropped slipper suggests."

"I see," Ai replied. "There isn't anything in here that points to there having been a struggle."

"And even if there was, the other two would have heard it," Conan said. "There is something else that bothers me."

"What is it, Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked.

"We heard the victim scream," Conan said. "The only way that is possible is if she was outside. She could have started screaming inside, but again, there doesn't seem to have been a struggle and no one else heard anything or else they would have rushed to the room instead of outside to the body."

"Which means she screamed only a few seconds before she hit the ground, when she realized that she was falling," Ai finished.

"Correct," Conan replied pacing the room. "But that doesn't make sense. That would be consistent with an accidental fall, but not in a murder like this. Even if she was caught by surprise, she would have yelled as she was lifted."

"Couldn't she have already been on the veranda?" Ayumi asked.

"That isn't possible," Conan replied. "Remember, that other slipper was found by her desk. The killer definitely attacked her when she was…"

Conan paused when he noticed that he couldn't lift his foot. After pulling a few times, he freed his foot. His eyes widened when he looked down to see what his foot was caught on. He ran out of the room to the crime scene, a surprised and confused group of kids trailing behind him. He went up to one of the forensics officers.

"Hey, about that slipper that was found in the room," Conan started. "Kogoro-ojisan wants to know…"

**Questioning Room**

"So I understand that your brother killed himself after he was laid off because of cuts that the victim made when she bought the company," Megure asked as he and Kogoro sat across from the talk, muscular man, Takahara.

"Yes, but it his getting cut was expected when she told us that a few teams were getting fired," Takahara replied. "She chose the lowest rated teams and cut them. Mashiro's team was the second lowest."

"Lowest rated?" Kogoro asked.

"Yes," Takahara replied. "Each client has to fill out a survey that talks about how the team performed and their satisfaction with the job. Before that woman took over, it was mainly a sort of friendly competition in the company. She used the ratings to see who to get rid of."

"I see," Megure said. "I thought that she just cut those that seemed to need their job the most."

"Is that what Toshimaru told you?" Takahara said, laughing. "He really hated her after she made him massage her feet after that company run. Her feet were so sore, she never went on another one again."

"But, he said that it happened after each one," Kogoro said.

"She only took over three months ago," Takahara said. "Do you expect us to have a run every day? No. Still, the woman may have been a huge bitch, but she was good at what she did; almost a master in doing underhanded things and increasing profits. She would never do anything as stupid as cutting peole at random. She only kept those that would make her money."

"Let's talk about your brother," Megure said. "If understand, it was about three weeks since his suicide?"

"Yes," Takahara replied, solemnly. "After his fiancée left him, he moved in with me. After I got back from work one day, those three weeks ago, I found him hanging from my living room ceiling fan. Since the fan wasn't broken under his weight, the investigators concluded that he wasn't there long before I arrived. If I had gotten there earlier, I could have saved him."

"So the victim held you up and kept you from saving your brother," Kogoro stated.

"No," Takahara replied. "We were held up by Naota. He's our team's programming specialist and an absolute perfectionist. He won't let us leave until everything is perfect. If he sees that there is a blind spot in the camera feed, he will make us rearrange them until all of the blind spots are covered. Still, I don't blame Naota. His perfectionism is the reason why our team is the highest rated and why we still have our jobs."

"I see," Megure said. "We understand that you were in the living room when the victim…landed."

"Yes," Takahara replied. "I was hooking the cameras that were already installed to the recording box downstairs which can connect to the internet and play the feed from any device that has the access code and can connect to the internet like computers, cell phones, and even TVs. Naota was upstairs watching the feed of the second floor cameras that we set up yesterday."

"So Kuromara Naota was upstairs at the time," Kogoro said, mostly to himself.

"Alright, you can go now," Megure said.

"Keibu-dono," Kogoro said after Takahara left. "It looks like we have found our killer."

"Right, Mouri-kun," Megure replied. "Kuromara Naota was the only one upstairs with the victim at the time of the murder."

"Right," Kogoro said. "Let's go arrest a criminal!"

**Crime Scene**

'You guys are wrong,' Conan thought to himself as he heard Kogoro and Megure coming to a conclusion. 'It looks like I have to take care of this the usual way. That guy knows everything anyway and I already have the room prepared. Now, I just have to get everyone up there.'

Moments later, Megure and Kogoro arrived, joining everyone else at the crime scene.

"You are ready to get my testimony now?" the last man of the three asked.

"That will not be necessary," Kogoro replied.

"What are you talking about?" the man asked.

"I mean that I, the great detective Mouri Kogoro, have already solved this case and figured out who the murder is."

"That's amazing, Oji-san!" Conan exclaimed in his childish tone. "We should go up to the victims room so you can reveal the killer and he can't run away. Most of the evidence was found there anyway."

"Of course," Kogoro replied. "You have a good point, brat. I should let the suspense build up before I make the big reveal. Let's go to the victim's room. It is there that the great detective's reasoning show will begin."

"I see he still has a love for theatrics," Eri whispered to Ran.

"Yeah," Ran replied, her eye twitching.

Kogoro led the group upstairs to Katahara's bedroom. He and Megure were surprised to see that the mattresses from the bed were blocking the door to the veranda. They also noticed that a chair was leaning against the bed. Before Kogoro could say anything about the change, Conan discreetly shot him with a tranquilizer dart from his wristwatch. Kogoro stumbled into the room and somehow landed perfectly on the chair. As everyone gathered in front of him, Conan snuck away to crawl under the bed.

"Now that I have gotten comfortable, it is time for my show to begin," Conan said using Kogoro's voice. "If we were to go by the two testimonies, we can conclude that the killer is the one person that was upstairs with the victim. In other words, you, Kuromara Naota."

"No!" the man with glasses exclaimed. "I didn't do it!"

"I never said that you did," Conan said. "That is just what the conclusion would have been if I hadn't discovered the trick the killer used to throw the victim out of the room without actually being in the room himself."

"A trick?" Megure asked. "You never said anything about that earlier."

"Because I wasn't entirely sure at the time," Conan replied. 'Actually it's because I was doing the actual investigating while you two were playing around,' he thought to himself. "The culprit used a simple and primitive, but highly effective trap."

"A trap?" Eri asked.

"Yes," Conan replied. "As you can see, I have a spot near the desk marked with bright, yellow tape."

"That's near the spot where we found that slipper," Takagi exclaimed.

"Yes it is," Conan replied. "Now, look just ahead of that spot. What do you see."

"Hey!" Takagi exclaimed when everyone looked over to see a black book on the floor. "That's my officer memo book." Takagi rushed to retrieve his book. When he tried to turn around, however, he found that his foot was stuck.

"Now, Chiba-keiji!" Conan exclaimed holding up a cell phone.

Suddenly, Takagi, who had just got his foot free, was pulled by the leg by a cable into the mattresses that blocked the door to the veranda. After he hit the ground, the cable was jerked up and slipped from around his ankle before being pulled between the space between the two mattresses.

"If those mattresses weren't there, Takagi-keiji…" Conan started.

"He would have be thrown out of the window!" Megure exclaimed.

"Which is exactly what happened to our victim," Conan said. "It is a modified trap used to catch animals. A bait was set down with a cable lying on the floor tied like a noose. The other end of the cable went out over the railing, into the house, and was held by the killer. To make sure that the foot was kept in place, a very strong adhesive was used which is why Takagi's foot was stuck. The forensics team found traces of the adhesive on the bottom of the victim's slipper that was left in the room."

"Hold on, Mouri-kun," Megure said. "How would the killer know when to pull the cable?"

"The answer to that question lies in the bait that was used for the trap," Conan replied.

Eri's eyes widened. "The cell phone!" she exclaimed.

"Exactly," Conan said, with a smirk (though no one could see it). "The culprit placed the victim's cell phone there and called it. When the victim answered it, the culprit pulled the cable, pulling the victim out of the veranda door, over the railing, and onto the ground below, killing her instantly."

"So who is the killer?" Megure asked.

"The culprit *cue dramatic pause* is you, Takahara Junpei."

Everyone turned to face Takahara who looked more amused than surprised. "That's an interesting theory, Tantei-san," he said. "But, it is only that; a theory. Besides, what proof do you have that I was the one that killed her? Don't tell me that it is because cables were used. We were all trained to be able to do each others' jobs if necessary. The others could have used this trick as well."

"First is the phone call," Conan said. "We have checked with the phone company and found out the last call placed to the cell phone came from the house phone here just before the murder. The only phone outside of this room is the one in the living room where you were."

"It's a cordless phone," Takahara replied. "Toshimaru could have used it as well. Since we both use gloves to do our jobs, you wouldn't have fingerprint evidence to know which of us did use it."

"There is an interesting fact about the security cameras at your company that make them the best on the market as well as being the most expensive," Conan said. "They have a built in recording memory as well as an internal, backup power supply. This means that one can record even when not connected to the main box. This is especially useful when criminals try to cut the power to cover their break in. Up to an hour can be recorded and stored until the memory fills up."

"So you checked the cameras and saw me pulling the cable?" Takahara asked. "That's impossible."

"I know that it is impossible," Conan replied. The only ones that are installed are on the second floor hallway and outside of the kitchen."

"So how is that proof?" Takahara asked.

"You were not recorded pulling the cable," Conan replied, "But Kuneshita-san and Kuromara-san were both recorded not pulling the cable."

Everyone's eyes widened at that statement. After a moment, Takahara began to chuckle.

"So, you did want revenge for your brother," Conan said.

"Not at all," Takahara said. "If I did, she wasn't the one to kill to do it."

"What are you talking about?" Megure asked.

"I don't believe that my brother committed suicide," Takahara replied. "The president had him killed."

"What are you talking about?" Megure asked. "Why would he do that?"

"You already heard that that woman blackmailed him into selling the company even though there was only a slight danger of it failing," Takahara said. "The material that she used to blackmail him was proof of his affair with my brother."

"What!" everyone in the room exclaimed.

"I'm not sure what led to the affair, but the two occasionally met each other and went to a hotel in Ni- Chome[1]," Takahara said. "The woman used her yakuza ties to have the president followed. This was how she discovered the secret and used it to blackmail him."

"Then why did you kill her?" Takagi asked. "Did the president ask you to?"

"The woman pretty much forced me to be her personal, free escort," Takahara said. "If I declined, she would have had me fired. I wouldn't have been able to support myself and my brother. Toshimaru and Junpei would have lost their jobs as well since we are a team. It was during one of the nights she forced me to be with her that I found out about the affair between the president and my brother. I confronted my brother about it, but a few days later, I found him dead. After he died, the woman also found some dirt on me that would have ruined me, so I had to get rid of her."

Two officers came in and placed the handcuffs on Takahara's wrists. He just smirked and allowed them to lead his to the door.

"What was it that she found on you that could have been so bad," Conan asked.

Takahara stopped and turned his head slightly to where Conan was hidden. "_That's a secret, Little Detective,_" he said in English before being taken away.

Conan's eyes widened. After a moment's hesitation, he rushed out just in time to see the still smirking Takahara being put in a police car.

**Later that Night**

The Mouri Family (and Conan) sat in the living room, finishing their unpacking when Kogoro's cell phone rang.

"Hello, this is Mouri," Kogoro said. "Ah! Keibu-dono. Is there another case you need my help on so soon? What! Alright, I will be there right away."

"What happened?" Eri asked.

"Takahara escaped his holding cell and was found dead in his apartment," Kogoro replied. "It seems to be a suicide."

Conan's eyes widened before they narrowed. "Oji-san," he said in a dark tone that surprised the other occupants of the room. "Were there any officers killed during his escape?"

"No," Kogoro replied. "An officer was found unconscious and stripped of his uniform. Megure-keibu believes that Takahara used that to escape unnoticed."

"Ah!" Conan exclaimed. "I just remembered that Hakase wanted me to pick up something for him for one of his inventions. I won't be out too long. I will see you later."

With that, Conan left the room in a hurry, leaving the others even more surprised.

"I'm surprised that he didn't try to come with me to the scene," Kogoro said.

**Uzumaki Mansion-Study**

Naruto stood in the dark room with a glass of his favorite Remy Martain XO in his hand as he stared out the huge window at the moon. He sensed someone nearing the room and smirked.

"You did an excellent job today, Chibi Tantei," Naruto said without turning around as Conan entered the room with a scowl on his face. "I never thought that not being on camera would be my downfall."

"You didn't kill any officers in your escape," Conan stated simply, glaring at Naruto's back.

"You won the round fair and square," Naruto replied. "I didn't see the need to put an incident like your father's on your conscience, especially being as young as you are. Six years old is a delicate age, after all."

Conan clenched his fists at Naruto's jab at his condition. "You killed them all, didn't you?" he asked. "Both Takahara brothers and the woman, Katahara. That company president hired you to kill them, didn't he?"

"Amazing, Chibi Tantei!" Naruto exclaimed. "You are absolutely right. The younger brother told the president that the elder Takahara had found out about the affair. He then came to me to come up with plan to kill all three of the ones that knew of his secret. It's probably bound to get out anyway since I revealed it earlier." Naruto took a sip from his glass. "Ah! Before I forget. Did you come by to transform now?"

"No," Conan replied. "It's too soon since my last transformation. Just give me the pill and I will use it on my own time."

"I'm afraid that that is not possible," Naruto replied. "You see, these pills are only a catalyst for a process that I have to be directly involved in. That's why, even if you had the pill and took it, you wouldn't be able to do anything unless you knew the process to make you grow; a process that only I have knowledge of. Well, when you are ready, just come to me any time."

"I will have you put away," Conan said, clenching his fists before turning toward the door.

"I look forward to it, Chibi Tantei," Naruto said, still watching the moon. "Until then, let's get along, shall we?"

**[1] Shinjuku-Ni Chome is well known as Tokyo's hub for gay culture and houses the highest concentration of gay bars in the world. (Though I don't know if there are actually any love hotels for gays in the district.)**


End file.
